Police release holiday retail theft numbers

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This article was published 27/02/2025 (191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City police said they arrested 200 people and recovered $56,579 in stolen property amid an increased presence in busy shopping areas in November and December.

Members spent 670 hours providing “a visible presence” in the Osborne Village, West End and Exchange District business improvement zones between Nov. 1 and Dec. 29.

The Manitoba government provided funding for 12 Winnipeg Police Service officers who started work in early November. At the time, WPS acting chief Art Stannard said the officers would join a foot patrol unit upon graduation from training.

The province then announced on Nov. 14 that it would fund an additional 12 officers to help make an anti-retail theft program permanent. Those officers will begin work in the coming months to help create a “safer, more vibrant downtown,” the WPS said.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe told the Free Press on Wednesday that the officers will join the WPS in the spring.

The WPS announced on Dec. 4 that it was deploying uniformed officers and members of its major crimes unit to key retail locations amid the holiday shopping season.

“It’s not always about the theft itself, but more about the safety of our workforce and our community,” major crimes Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said at a news conference at CF Polo Park that day.

“We do not want the Grinch to steal our holiday shopping season.”

Officers “engaged with 187 retailers” as part of the SafeShop Project, the WPS said in a news release Thursday.

The WPS also launched a shoplifting crackdown during the 2023 holiday season after a significant increase in reports of thefts and violence.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca