More than two dozen arrested in shoplifting crackdown

Police are calling a crackdown on shoplifters in West Kelowna a success after numerous people were arrested.

In the past few months, West Kelowna businesses have reported an increase in violence, and threats of violence, towards loss prevention officers working to stop shoplifters. Because of this, RCMP rolled out a weekend long initiative targeting shoplifting and numerous businesses in the area.

From May 14 to 15, 2021 members of the West Kelowna RCMP Community Safety Unit (CSU) partnered with Loss Prevention Officers at local businesses. The RCMP officers used a combination of plain clothes and uniformed officers who identified people allegedly stealing from the businesses and arrested them.

As a result of this project, a total of 24 people were arrested and released for future court dates for shoplifting. Numerous other arrests were made for other offences such as outstanding warrants, possession of a stolen car, drug trafficking, and violations of driving prohibitions.

“This was a very successful initiative,” said Staff Sgt. Duncan Dixon of the West Kelowna RCMP. “We are working diligently to send a clear message that this sort of criminal activity will not be tolerated in our community.”