Safe City Mississauga and Erin Mills Town Centre Counter-Act Shoplifting Campaign Raises Awareness

It is a shocking reality, Canadian retail profits are reduced by nearly 30%, and this amounts to an extraordinary $3.6 billion per year lost in retail crime , or $8 million lost per day ; 35% is attributed to shoplifting. When assessing shoplifting, it is not initially considered an adverse issue that affects the community as a whole however consequences include decreases in sales associates’ wages and hours, and inflation of costs for products, making consumers to pay more for goods.  Safe City Mississauga launched an awareness campaign in November including information for businesses and an offer to conduct crime prevention through design analysis of their store(s), stickers to place in the dressing rooms of stores, and an essay contest for Mississauga youth between the ages of 12 and 18.  Erin Mills Town Centre supported the community crime prevention campaign by offering four prizes of $250 each. 

They completed the sentence “_______ is better than shoplifting because _______” beginning with one of the following a phrase such as Getting a job, Chilling with friends, Helping out in the community, Getting an education, Down time with family, Giving your time as a gift, Shopping, Being a role model, Doing without, Making a gift
Recipients:

• Garrett Kirkman – “As a responsible mature teenager I consider what I do before I do it as I know my younger siblings and younger people in my school are watching and learning from how I act. To me it is morally and ethically responsible to tell others to not participate in illegal activities as they have negative impacts not only on themselves; but also on the community and their parents/guardians. If someone that looks up to me sees me doing something illegal such as shoplifting, the chance of them shoplifting increases; but if I was to report an incident of shoplifting and a person who I am a role model to saw this, they have a higher chance of behaving in the same manner that our world has come to expect from responsible young people as they develop into adults capable of contributing to society in positive ways.” 

• Patricia Lam – “Volunteering uses your time wisely to help others instead of committing a crime. At my school, the theme of this month is conscience, which guides us to choose right from wrong. Devoting your time and effort around the community is definitely the right thing to do - whether you volunteer at a retirement home, a public garden or for your neighbour is worth it. You also gain valuable experience which could prove useful in finding a job and then you can actually buy the things you want and need, instead of stealing them. So you get the best of both worlds helping out and landing a job, and buying stuff with your hard-earned money (with an added bonus of feeling good about yourself of course). All in all, helping out in the community contributes to the safety and security of the city, as well as promotes good citizenship in Mississauga!”

• Valentina Serrafero – “You are giving someone something that is personal and is made with emotions instead of reducing yourself to a thief. Usually people will make homemade gifts when they don’t have enough to buy a gift which in turn will convince people to shoplift for the same budget reasons, yet that isn’t what gift giving is about. Giving someone a gift is a personal choice and a homemade gift is made uniquely and even though you may believe that a certain product that you can’t afford is the product your friend prefers which leads you to steal it, but it’s actually less appreciated.  A processed product may be preferred at the time but in a long run a homemade gift can’t be replaced and it’s made with feelings not the intent to go against the law. Emotions are stronger than the plastic and friends are richer then thief’s.

• Christina Dalcourt – “Those nice pair of shoes calling out to you, but you just don’t have enough? Forget them. Spending time with your family is way more important, those shoes can be grown out of but your family is there forever. Might as well spend time with them instead of shoplifting, and hey who knows they might just buy them for you for Christmas! Remember to always look for the happiness in people more than the happiness from material things. You will get a lot farther in life with the support of your family and friends rather than knowing you stole those nice pair of shoes. It’s just not worth it!”

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