Province backs retail anti-crime task force

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This article was published 22/09/2020 (1905 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba announced Tuesday the start of a task force aimed at curbing retail theft, partnering with local law enforcement agencies and retailers to tackle what Justice Minister Cliff Cullen called a concerning issue in the province.

“I think we all know that retail crime is a problem here in Manitoba,” Cullen said from a podium at the Grant Park Shopping Centre, outside the busy exits of a Liquor Mart and Co-op grocery store.

The task force, which met for the first time Tuesday afternoon in downtown Winnipeg, would be focused on prevention and suppression of retail theft and designing intervention strategies businesses can implement, Cullen said. It will be funded with $25,000 allocated from the province’s proceeds of crime fund, and a report should be expected by the end of the year, he said.

The task force is comprised of law enforcement, government personnel and retailers. Members include Scott Kolody, associate deputy minister of justice; Michele Jules, executive director of Manitoba Prosecution Service; RCMP Chief Supt. Rob Hill; Winnipeg Police Service deputy chief Jeff Szyszkowski; Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries director of corporate security and surveillance Shawn McGurk; Garda World security regional vice-president Scott Young; and Damien Smith, district loss prevention officer for Rexall Pharmacy Group Ltd.

The project was borne out of a January meeting between local chambers of commerce, business organizations and government, which recommended a task force to develop and implement a retail strategy, while distributing information to retailers to support theft-prevention needs, Cullen said.

Chairing the group will be Tory MLA Shannon Martin (McPhillips) and John Graham, director of government relations for the Retail Council of Canada.

COVID-19 pandemic restrictions put a pause on retail crime in the spring but the province continues to face a recent surge, Graham said.

“The bad guys are getting innovative… but I think we can say, watch out criminals, because here we come,” he said.

Asked about the lack of social service organizations participating in the task force’s inaugural meeting, Cullen said if those groups are interested in engaging with the group, it is on the table.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca