In a two day span, VicPD made 23 arrests and recovered $13,972 in stolen merchandise during its second round of Project Lifter, which targets violent and repeat retail theft offenders.
Between February 9th and February 11th, officers from VicPD’s Patrol Division and Outreach and General Investigation Sections collaborated with retail loss prevention staff to identify and apprehend violent and chronic shoplifters at 13 retail stores in Victoria.
Operation Project Lifter was initiated late last year in response to ongoing concerns from local businesses about regular retail theft, increased violence when staff attempt to intervene, and the impact this has on business operations and staff safety.
From this second round, police are recommending 22 charges for theft under $5,000 and one for theft over $5,000.
Back in December, VicPD conducted an eight-day operation in downtown Victoria trying to catch suspects who have been stealing merchandise from nearby businesses.
As a result, 109 arrests were made and police were able to retrieve over $29,000 in stolen goods between Monday, November 27th and Tuesday, December 5th.
In VicPD’s statement, they said officers provided those arrested information on access to housing, substance use, and other community supports in an effort to break the cyclical nature of these crimes
Project Lifter is funded by the Special Investigations and Targeted Enforcement (SITE) program—a three-year pilot aimed at increasing police capacity to collaborate on new initiatives and supplementing police resources for targeted enforcement in addressing violent, repeat offending.
The funding for SITE comes from the Provincial Government’s Safer Communities Action Plan.
