258 arrests made in 2-week period as Vancouver police continue shoplifting crackdown

Efforts to crack down on violent and chronic shoplifters continues in Vancouver, where police say they recently made 258 arrests in the span of two weeks.

The Vancouver Police Department detailed the results of its latest retail-theft blitz in a statement Friday, adding it also recovered nearly $57,000 of stolen merchandise during the operation.

It’s the latest phase of Project Barcode, an anti-shoplifting initiative the VPD launched back in March that’s led to 613 arrests and the recovery of $174,000 of snatched goods.

Staff Sgt. Mario Mastropieri says the VPD will keep up the pressure on retail criminals throughout the holiday season.

“Despite the work we’ve done, business owners still have concerns for their staff and customers, and we’ll continue to proactively target chronic shoplifters and violent thieves until everyone feels safe again,” he wrote in the release.

Vancouver police acknowledge retail theft isn’t unique to the city, which is why they partnered with agencies across Metro Vancouver during the latest anti-shoplifting crackdown.

As a result, an additional 82 arrests were made by police in Delta, Langley, Richmond and Burnaby in September.

In the four-day span that Delta police ran Project-D Barcode, they recommended a total of 14 charges.

“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime,” said Delta Police Department Staff. Sgt. Trent McKie in Friday’s statement. “We are sending a clear message that we stand firmly with our local business community.”

Tony Hunt, the general manager of loss prevention for London Drugs, says businesses are doing their part to crack down on retail theft as well.

“Businesses are not sitting idly by,” said Hunt. “Employers are spending millions of dollars on security measures, but not all businesses can afford to take these steps.”

In some cases, retail theft is costing customers too.

London Drugs COO Clint Mahlman says customers of the chain’s store on Granville and Georgia streets are paying an extra one-and-a-half to three per cent more on products in order to cover the costs of anti-theft measures.

Those include training staff in de-escalation, hiring security guards and installing HD cameras.

Earlier this month, there were rumours that London Drugs was planning to close the same location due rampant shoplifting.

While those rumours have since been squashed, the chain says it isn’t ruling out shuttering the store if violent theft and vandalism continues.

A recent report by the Retail Council of Canada found retail theft have increased by 300 per cent since the start of the pandemic.

Mastropieri says police are doing what they can to make sure the crime trend doesn’t escalate any further.

“We’ve seen the impact rampant theft and violent shoplifting has had in other North American cities, where some major retailers have decided to no longer do business. We’re determined to not let that happen here,” he said.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Kaija Jussinoja