Out of the Richmond RCMP's 59 retail theft arrests last fiscal year, 43 people were from outside Richmond.
During the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year, police recovered approximately $14,500 worth of merchandise and caught repeat offenders as well as individuals with outstanding warrants for other crimes, according to Richmond RCMP.
Richmond RCMP's property crime unit works with loss prevention officers and community partners in operation "Boost & Bust" to fight property crime and theft.
The operation was expanded to include frontline officers to ensure "a wider and more flexible response to Richmond's commercial environments," according to Richmond RCMP.
The Richmond News reported last month that Richmond RCMP made 19 arrests over two days in March and recovered more than $7,000 worth of stolen merchandise.
Most suspects were from Vancouver while four were from Richmond.
According to the City of Richmond's community safety report, police received 116 shoplifting reports in January, which was a 13 per cent increase from December 2023 and 51 per cent increase from January 2023.
Of those reported in January, police managed to identify the suspects in 29 per cent of the incidents.
"Timely reporting" is critical to combating retail theft and the enhanced police frontline presence can be a "formidable deterrent," said Chief Supt. Dave Chauhan, Officer in Charge of Richmond RCMP.
"Retail theft is a complex challenge with repercussions beyond the financial bottom line – it erodes the security and trust within our community," he added.
"We are committed to innovating our response to this growing concern."
With files from Daisy Xiong.
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