A Victoria police effort targeting downtown shoplifters has led to 16 arrests in three days.
Five of those arrested were already wanted on various warrants, including one who had 12 warrants.
Known as Project Magnet, the effort ran June 28 to 30 and was focused on one retail outlet at Bay Centre. Officers from both the patrol and community-services divisions took part, and worked closely with loss-prevention officers at the store.
Police said the goal was to deal with a growing level of violence linked to thefts from retailers, and support downtown businesses recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One thing that stood out was the “brazenness” of the shoplifters, said Victoria police spokesman Const. Cam McIntyre.
“We had arrest teams in the store arresting thieves for shoplifting, and other suspects are walking past our arrest teams and then committing theft themselves and then getting arrested,” he said. “So they had no fear of the consequences of their actions.”
McIntyre said shoplifting has become “prolific,” and concerns about crime and disorder downtown — as expressed in a police survey — are on the rise.
Recent violence includes a loss-prevention officer being stabbed in May while trying to stop a suspected shoplifter at the Canadian Tire store in Hillside Shopping Centre.
He applied a tourniquet to himself to stop the bleeding before Victoria police arrived to help. The man was treated at hospital and released.
McIntyre said there have also been instances where staff confronting shoplifters were bear-sprayed or threatened with knives.
But with so many calls related to more serious issues, police sometimes can’t get to shoplifting reports right away, he said.
“Not only is there tremendous economic impact to these retailers, a lot of these crimes are going unanswered.”
McIntyre said the number of arrests is all the more notable given that the police operation was limited to four to six hours a day, with the third day cut short due to a bomb threat at the courthouse.
“It really does speak to quite a problem with thieves targeting business in our community.”
He said the downtown blitz was a pilot project that allowed police to test their methodology, with the goal of rolling it out on a much larger scale in coming months.
Victoria Police Chief Del Manak said downtown businesses are essential to the vibrancy of the community, and police wanted to find ways to support those businesses, ensure the safety of staff members and increase the feeling of safety for downtown shoppers.
“We know that many thefts at local businesses go unreported and many instances lead to violence against loss-prevention officers,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”
Police are also urging the public to report any theft or disorder they see in the downtown core.
Jeff Bray, president of the Downtown Victoria Business Association, applauded the police for taking action.
“Our local businesses have had a challenging year and VicPD’s project to combat theft and the associated violence and disorder is a big step in welcoming community members back to shopping downtown.”
Report any concerns by calling Victoria police at 250-995-7654, extension 1, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
