Alberta Police Agencies Partner to combat Organized Retail Crime

Left to Right

Sgt. J. Stubbs- RCMP, Cst. R. Wilson- EPS, Cst. K Anderson- CPS Cst. Shawn Davis- LPS, Cst. K. Hagan- LPS,

Police warn online deals could be hot as organized crime creeps into retail theft

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, Calgary police are warning the public to be wary of unwittingly buying items that were previously stolen.

Organized retail crime is part of a growing issue in Calgary and across the province, which has prompted Calgary police to team up with the Edmonton and Lethbridge police services, as well as Airdrie RCMP.

Organized retail crime is the premeditated theft of consumer goods for the purpose of illegally selling the merchandise for cash, according to Calgary police. The items are usually taken through planned, systematic shoplifting and then sold to the public through classified ads, online sales, flea markets or on the black market.

Calgary and surrounding area retailers have reported a collective loss of about $10 million this year. Designer fashion and high-end fragrance retailers, cosmetics businesses and athletic-wear companies were some of the most common types of businesses to report losses.

Others included bookstores, electronics businesses, grocery stores and liquor stores.

Besides obvious “grab-and-run” incidents, offenders often pull off the theft by concealing items in specially lined bags that won’t set off store detectors. They use demagnetizing devices to overcome anti-theft devices, or even cut or rip off item tags.

Stolen goods are then advertised and sold at discount prices — an attractive deal for buyers who may be unaware that they are purchasing a stolen item.

Other instances of organized retail crime involve the offender trying to return a fake product to a store in an attempt to get a refund for something they never purchased.

The effect of the crime is higher prices for consumers, as retailers cover the loss of stolen items and the cost of added security to prevent further theft.

“While it may seem harmless, purchasing stolen goods feeds criminal organizations and gives them easy money that helps them branch into other illegal activities,” said Const. Kevin Anderson of the Calgary Police Service Organized Retail Crime team.

“We know that many of the goods stolen in our city are initially traded for drugs, which means when those same goods are sold down the road, the money is going directly to the drug trade and to people who have little regard for the safety of our communities.”

Calgary police say the number of reported shoplifting cases rose from 5,188 to 5,232 from 2016 to 2017. There have been more than 3,650 reported cases this year, as of the end of September.

Organized retail crime costs Canadian retailers an estimated $4.6 billion each year, according to police.

Consumers can avoid purchasing stolen goods by sticking to licensed, reputable businesses, and questioning sellers how they obtained the property and why they are selling it so cheap.

“The message we’re really hoping to get out here is that . . . we can help prevent organized retail crime by recognizing the crime itself and refusing to buy items that we believe to be stolen items,” said Anderson. “If the deal’s too good to be true, if you’re purchasing something that’s brand new in the box and it’s a fraction of the price of the original item . . . this might be a stolen item.”

Anyone who recognizes suspicious activity is encouraged to contact police.

— With files from Yolande Cole

Here are links to the media coverage November 2018:

CBC https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-retail-theft-holiday-season-1.4913838

Global https://globalnews.ca/news/4683430/alberta-police-retail-theft-province-collaboration/

CTV https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1545176

Calgary Herald & Calgary SUN (same article)  https://calgaryherald.com/news/crime/police-warn-of-growing-organized-retail-crime-trend-amid-tempting-black-friday-deals/wcm/1420e04c-5485-4cb1-a064-2e731c21f982

CityNews/660 News https://www.660citynews.com/video/2018/11/20/police-warn-albertans-of-organized-retail-crime/

            This reporter did not attend the news conference, and is misspoken in her report. She says there’s one specific ORC ring operating in Calgary…obviously that’s not the case, and she’s the only reporter to say that. Her colleague attended the conference on her behalf, so unfortunately there’s some misleading info in her news report.

NewsTalk 770 AM https://omny.fm/shows/calgary-today-with-angela-kokott/western-slowdown-freedom-mobile-holiday-scams-and?t=22m57s

Shoplifting on the rise in Calgary

BY TOM ROSS 660 news

Posted Jul 24, 2019 6:45 pm MDT

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Amid a new report showing the latest crime numbers in Calgary was a large rise in shoplifting cases.

Numbers from Statistics Canada show 6,012 cases of shoplifting under $5,000 in 2018 — an increase of over 28 per cent from 2017.

The latest data from Calgary police show the trend continues, with an 18 per cent increase in cases so far in 2019 compared to the same time last year.

“Retail crime is a big deal,” said Constable Kevin Anderson with the Organized Retail Crime Unit.

Police say liquor theft is one of the biggest reasons for this increase, as they saw a dramatic rise in those cases in 2018.

However, there’s also an indication retailers are simply becoming more comfortable with reporting the thefts because of improved tools and online reporting.

“And I expect to continue to see the numbers go up while we continue to roll out the new online reporting tool,” Anderson added.

In the meantime, retailers themselves are improving their efforts with security and also working together.

“We’re seeing that a lot of the investigations are happening in the retail community themselves,” said Anderson. “They’re sharing information amongst themselves, saying this particular person committed a theft at our store, be aware of it, and we’re seeing more awareness around organized retail crime.”

While liquor is one of the top targets, Anderson said all manner of objects — from fragrances to clothing to electronics — can be targets of thieves and pretty much anything in a store can have value in the secondary market.

There is also a wide spectrum of culprits responsible.

“It goes from completely organized, targeted, specific items with shopping lists, all the way down to the crimes of necessity and opportunity,” Anderson said.

He added stopping the organized efforts makes the largest impact, but trying to quell the crimes of necessity or opportunity are a “totally different animal.”

Being proactive and trying to prevent the thefts from happening in the first place is also more effective in the long run, and police will work with retailers to keep their stock safe.

“Considering the layout of their store, considering where they’re putting the CCTV cameras, making sure that they actually have customer service happening — you know, talking to the customer, engaging the customer — and really being cognizant of where you’re putting the product and how the store is laid out.”

But even with these efforts, Anderson does not expect the numbers to significantly drop and it will remain a challenge.