Medicine Hat Police say they will be more visible at businesses over the next several months to help address a spike in shoplifting in the past year - Photo by Colton McKee

By Charles Lefebvre

Police to increase presence in businesses to help reduce shoplifting

Jan 23, 2020 | 4:44 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB— Medicine Hat Police say uniformed officers will be more visible in big box stores in the coming weeks as they work to crack down on shoplifting in Medicine Hat.

“For 2019, our shoplifting calls for service were up one per day, approximately 366 calls, which was up significantly from the year before, which was 250,” said Staff Sergeant Rod Thompson.

According to the year-end report at the recent Medicine Hat Police Commission meeting, out of those 366 calls, police opened 311 shoplifting files for investigation in 2019, up from 216 in 2018.

While shoplifting can happen anywhere in the city, Thompson says the majority of calls they receive come from big box stores, and shoplifters are becoming more brazen.

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“In the cases I’m seeing and reading, the people that are responsible for this are definitely getting more bold in what they’re doing,” he said. “They’re walking into stores blatantly, they’re quite brave, and they’re walking out. They’re definitely getting more confident in the crimes they’re committing.”

Thompson says members of the police service, along with bylaw officers, will be a more visible presence at stores for the next several months in an attempt to help deter shoplifting, and send a message to businesses.

“We recognize that they’re experiencing significant financial losses, and I think it lets them know that we’re with them, and we feel the pain in the crimes they have been violated with, and I just hope our presence has some impact with it,” said Thompson.

Thompson reminds business owners that if they see shoplifting in progress in their store, they should call 911.