Manitoba has beefed up efforts to fight retail theft, retailers hope for more
CTV
Manitoba's recent efforts to curb retail theft are working, by many accounts, and some businesses are hoping for more permanent changes.
Manitoba's recent efforts to curb retail theft are working, by many accounts, and some businesses are hoping for more permanent changes.
Winnipeg police warned last December of a sharp rise in retail theft -- sometimes involving violence -- and boosted officer presence in retail areas. In May, the provincial government announced it would pay for police officers in Winnipeg to work overtime to target parts of the city where retail theft was most rampant.
Munther Zeid, whose family owns the local Food Fare chain of grocery stores, says shoplifting incidents have gone down slightly, most notably those committed by organized thieves who steal not to feed themselves but to resell goods for money.
He recalled an incident last year when he was in a parking lot and a man approached him with a vehicle trunk filled with food.
"A guy comes up and he's trying to sell me my own meat," Zeid said.
"I just kept delaying it until I got some more of the boys down and we ended up taking the product away from him."
Police officers, sometimes in uniform and sometimes not, have visited Food Fare stores regularly and word of the increased police presence has served as a deterrent to some thieves, Zeid said.
