Multiple Metro Vancouver police agencies join forces to tackle retail theft in Surrey

A crackdown on retail theft in Surrey has resulted in 26 arrests, the recommendation of 15 criminal charges and the recovery of more than $5,000 in stolen merchandise, according to police.
On Monday, Surrey RCMP revealed the results of a combined effort at Guilford Town Centre on May 25, which was assisted by Metro Vancouver Transit Police and the Delta Police Department.
According to Mounties, five arrest warrants were executed during the day-long operation, and the people taken into custody included teenagers as well as adults in their 40s.
“We recognize that criminals are conducting retail theft across municipal borders, often using public transit, and their crimes have a significant negative impact on the community, including local businesses. These crimes result in additional costs to our families with each purchase we make,” said Staff Sgt. Nigel Pronger of Surrey RCMP’s North Community Response Unit.
Vancouver’s Donovan Alexander, 26, is among one of the people arrested during the combined police effort—not once, but twice that day.
The first time he was arrested for theft on May 25, Mounties say he was released on an undertaking to appear in court.
However, 90 minutes later, police observed him stealing from a supermarket and taken into custody again.
He’s since been released on the condition that he stays out of Surrey, unless its to appear in court.
“The number of arrests are a strong reflection that teamwork made this joint effort a huge success,” Const. Amanda Steed of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police said in the statement.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

1 RCMP officer killed, 2 seriously injured while executing search warrant in Coquitlam, B.C.
One RCMP officer was killed and two others were seriously injured while police were executing a search warrant at a home in Coquitlam, B.C., Friday.
EXCLUSIVE 'Shared intelligence' from Five Eyes informed Trudeau's India allegation: U.S. ambassador
There was 'shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners' that informed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's public allegation of a potential link between the government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen, United States Ambassador to Canada David Cohen confirmed to CTV News.
'He was truly exceptional': Slain B.C. RCMP officer identified
B.C. RCMP has identified the officer killed while executing a search warrant in Coquitlam Friday morning as Const. Rick O'Brien.
WATCH Video of rats running on wall prompts closure of Waterloo Tim Hortons
A Tim Hortons on University of Waterloo campus has been closed after a video of rats scurrying down one of the restaurant’s walls surfaced online.
TREND LINE Conservatives extend summer lead over Liberals, NDP sees bump in Nanos ballot tracking
With the fall sitting of Parliament underway, Nanos ballot tracking shows the federal Conservatives continue to hold onto the lead they’ve had all summer while the Liberals remain stalled, and the NDP has managed to gain a bit of steam in third place.
How does India's visa office suspension affect Canadian travellers?
The suspension of Indian visa services for Canadians this week has prompted uncertainty among many who had hoped to travel to India in the near future. Here's what the visa centre closure could mean for India's sizable diaspora community in Canada, which is now caught in the middle of rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Who's Bob Menendez? New Jersey's senator charged with corruption has survived politically for years
Bob Menendez, 69, has survived politically for nearly five decades. The son of Cuban immigrants and an attorney by training, he was a Union City, New Jersey, school board member at age 20 -- before he graduated from law school -- and went on to become the mayor of the city. Here's some of what we know about him.
Premier Doug Ford announces cabinet shuffle hours after 3rd minister resigns in a month
Premier Doug Ford is shuffling his cabinet for the second time in recent weeks after Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced Friday he is stepping away from politics to move into the private sector.
Cost of foreign interference probe nears $1.9 million; $1.7M goes to law firm
A Toronto-based law firm was awarded a nearly $4.5 million contract to work on former special rapporteur David Johnston's ill-fated foreign interference probe. The investigation has so far cost taxpayers almost $1.9 million, CTV News has learned.