VANCOUVER — Vancouver police said Wednesday that 217 people were arrested during a three-week crackdown on shoplifting.
“Retail crime is growing in major cities throughout North America, and in Vancouver we continue to see an alarming trend of repeat offenders and people using violence to commit their crimes,” said Staff Sgt. Mario Mastropieri, a spokesman for the VPD’s operations division.
“Business owners are frustrated by the financial losses and by the danger employees face for merely coming to work to earn a living, so we’re doing everything we can to help everyone feel safe again.”
Twenty-eight retailers participated in the three-week project and 280 thefts were investigated, according to police. Investigators say the 217 arrested had a combined total of 4,695 previous convictions. Nearly $80,000 in stolen merchandise was returned and 24 weapons were seized.
Police allege that in one case, a man with 37 criminal convictions entered a dollar store near Granville and Dunsmuir streets, and threatened staff with a knife. He then left with the merchandise he stole. Police allege the same man then went to another dollar store one block away, brandished a knife and committed another theft.
VPD officers arrested the suspect near Main and Hastings streets that same day. The suspect has been charged with possession of a weapon and uttering threats. He has been released from custody.
In another case, a man walked into a downtown clothing store and threatened to kill staff with a knife before taking store merchandise and leaving the shop. A suspect was arrested a short distance away, taken to jail and charged with assault with a weapon, theft over $5,000 and two counts of fail to comply.
After stealing $1,100 in store merchandise from a home hardware store in East Vancouver, a suspect threatened store security with a machete. Officers arrested a suspect, who has been charged with robbery and has been released from custody, according to police.
Police say shoplifting incidents in Vancouver rose more than 30 per cent in 2022 compared with the previous year. On average, there were more than 20 violent shoplifting incidents reported to the VPD each month last year.
