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Windsor police working with local retail stores busted 15 suspects alleged to be linked to a retail theft operation.
Officers with the Windsor police problem-oriented policing unit partnered with loss prevention teams at two local stores between Sept. 25 and 27.
The three-day operation led to the arrest of 15 people and 20 charges.
Officers also recovered $725 in stolen property.
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“The perception that shoplifting is a victimless crime could not be further from the truth,” said Insp. Jennifer Crosby.
“Thieves can often become aggressive and even lash out physically at store employees,” Crosby added. “The financial costs are also enormous and are ultimately passed on to the customers.”
In June, Windsor Police Chief Jason Bellaire said his department was considering a change to the way theft crimes are reported.
The department had been grappling with an inability to show improved shoplifting statistics due to what it said was lack of co-operation by one commercial organization.
“One particular agency is one that we’re stuck with, working with,” Bellaire said at the time. “Thirty per cent of all our shoplifting incidents are at this one corporation.
“And the problem we’re having is they are reporting these thefts, (and) those thefts are impacting our statistics,” he added, without naming the company.
“But they don’t want to work on suppressing theft.”
Crime statistics released Wednesday by the Windsor Police Service show a decrease in property crimes of 5.4 per cent (1,052 incidents) in September compared to September 2023.
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The year-to-date stats for 2024 compared to January to September 2023 edged up slightly at 0.6 per cent for a total of 8,911 property crimes so far this year.
Crimes against people surged by 31.6 per cent last month (325 crimes) compared to September 2023, while other criminal code violations rose by 3.4 per cent (152 violations).
The year-to-date statistics show crimes against people up by 17.3 per cent (2,483 crimes) and other criminal code violations up 1.7 per cent (1,328 violations, includes child pornography, administration of justice violations, non-violent weapons offences and gaming and betting offences).
To view the full report, visit windsorpolice.ca/services/open-data
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