With the busy holiday shopping season underway, the Kelowna RCMP recently carried out a six-day enforcement blitz that saw over 45 arrests made.
Between Dec. 2 and 7, members of the RCMP’s Community Safety Unit (CSU) worked with loss prevention officers and businesses to target repeat shoplifters.
The goal of the blitz was to deter one of the Central Okanagan's most prevalent crimes, the RCMP said in a news release issued Tuesday afternoon.
During Project Bardcode, 47 arrests were made primarily for shoplifting.
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A dozen of the people who were arrested were already wanted on outstanding warrants and most were held in custody until they could appear in court.
The RCMP say seven people had little to no criminal history and were involved in “lower dollar” thefts. Those people were referred to restorative justice in order to avoid criminal charges.
Although the enforcement blitz was targeting shoplifters, CSU officers also seized an imitation firearm and had two vehicles impounded for Motor Vehicle Act offences.
Sgt. Scott Powrie with the CSU said that there is still a “substantial” amount of documentation and evidence to be collected but expects a high number of these reports to be submitted for charge assessment at a later date.
“For the time being, most suspects have been released on Undertakings which include a court date and conditions not to attend the business from which they are alleged to have stolen from,” said Sgt. Powrie.
