Surrey RCMP ramp-up retail theft operation ahead of holiday shopping

Surrey

2023-11-16 09:18 PST

File # 2023-185029

The Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit (CRU) is ramping-up retail theft enforcement operations leading into the busy holiday shopping season.

Throughout 2023, Surrey RCMP-CRU have regularly conducted Boost and Bust operations that have resulted in a numerous arrests and thousands of dollars worth of merchandise being recovered, including this operation in May 2023.

Surrey-CRU has continued to make retail theft enforcement a priority and on October 25, 2023, officers hosted a meeting with several stakeholders to collaborate on building solutions to reduce retail theft while ensuring public safety in retail spaces for shoppers and staff in Surrey. The stakeholders who attended this meeting included the Downtown Surrey, Newton, and Cloverdale Business Improvement Associations, the Surrey Board of Trade, officials from City of Surrey, and major retailers.

With holiday shopping season just around the corner, I thank the Surrey RCMP for their proactive and targeted efforts to curb criminals who are looking to ruin the holidays, said Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke. This timely operation will help reduce thefts from Surrey businesses during the year’s busiest shopping season and help keep shoppers and staff safe. We are sending a strong message to would-be thieves. Shoplift in Surrey and you will be caught and held accountable.

As the holidays approach, Surrey RCMP-CRU will be conducting enhanced retail theft operations, which will have police working with retail loss prevention officers in multiple locations on some of the busiest shopping days of the year. The focus will be on thefts that are committed for profit, and prolific offenders who are committing them. The Surrey RCMP Mobile Street Enforcement Team (MSET) will also be conducting Operation Mistletoe, which will run concurrently to enhanced retail theft operations. Operation Mistletoe is an annual retail theft project that focusses on prevention and crime reduction through increased uniformed patrols of retail center parking lots and spaces.

Surrey RCMP is committed to working with our community and stakeholders on our retail theft strategy, to help make this a safe and positive shopping season for all, says Sgt. Tammy Lobb, Media Relations Officer with Surrey RCMP. Our message to criminals who shoplift from our businesses: if you shoplift from our stores, you are going to be arrested and we will be recommending charges, no matter what you steal, or what the dollar value may be, added Lobb.

Released by

Sgt. Tammy Lobb

Email: surrey_media_relations@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Website: surrey.rcmp-grc.gc.ca

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