Winnipeg police targeting shoplifters after retail thefts spike 44% year-over-year
Officers have arrested 151 suspected shoplifters since start of November
Winnipeg police are stepping up efforts to curb shoplifting after seeing a spike in retail theft during the first eight months of the year.
Police responded to 3745 incidents of shoplifting from January to August,a 44 per cent increase compared with the same time period in 2022, officials said at a news conference Monday.
However, more concerningis that these thieves are becoming more brazen and sometimes violent, said Insp. Jennifer McKinnon with the Winnipeg Police Service.
"The day of hiding an item in your jacket or bag and slipping out of the store unnoticed are long gone," she said.
"We see suspects brazenly enter stores, taking items with no efforts to conceal them and brandishing a weapon at employees, security and any customers that are in their way."
In response, the police service has been partnering with the local business community and Retail Council of Canada since the start of November to conduct focused enforcement and prevention.
So far, 151 people have been arrested in connection with theinitiative, McKinnon said.
Last week alone, officers arrested 15 people suspected of shoplifting at Polo Park Shopping Centre and recovered more than $6,000 worth of stolen property.
They also arrested 10 people at Kildonan Crossing Shopping Centre for shoplifting and recovered more than $2,300 worth of goods, McKinnon said.
Brazen theft
The initiative is focused on organized crime:People stealing items in bulk with the intention of reselling them, she said.
"This is a problem within our city where we have people going into grocery stores and taking trays of meat and selling them, people coming into larger box stores and taking carts of tools or clothing items that kind of stuff we're seeing a real increase in."
To date, officers have been targeting the downtown area, Kildonan Crossing and Polo Park based on data analysis of where retail theft is most prevalent, as well as requests from retailers.
John Graham of the Retail Council of Canada says they've been working with police to identify hot spots for theftso that police can direct their resources there.
He said there's a lot of frustration among retailers over how bold some shoplifters are, not only because of the financial impacts but because they make their stores unsafe for employees and customers.
Professional, organized criminals coming in [with] that mindset that they're not going to be deterred they're a huge concern that are keeping a lot of retailers up at night," he said.
That type of brazen theft is something Kevin Schmidt has seen at his grocery store, Family Foods, in downtown Winnipeg.
He says there have been times when people have walked out with a basket full of groceries, or dufflebags full of butter and cheese.
"Once they feel it's safe enough for them, they'll just walk out of the store with it and there's really nothing we can do," he said, addinghe tells his staff not to intervene because he doesn't want them putting their safety at risk.
"Ido fear that something bad could come out of it becauseyou don't know if someone is carrying a weapon or doing something that they could injure one of our staff members."
Police alsowork with social agencies to help people who steal food out of need, said Supt. Bonnie Emerson, who leads the community engagement division.
In one incident, an 80-year-old woman was caught stealing food so officers connected her with the Bear Clan Patrol, who provided her with food hampers, Emerson said,"so this is looking at opportunities for diversion where possible."
With files from Zubina Ahmed
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