Winkler Police Service responded to a number of shoplifting incidents over the past couple weeks. In the department's latest activities report covering September 16th through 29th, four separate cases were highlighted.
September 16th staff at a store reported a theft involving a male and female who left without paying for merchandise. Police identified both suspects after viewing video surveillance, but were unable to locate the suspects at the time. One of the suspects was later located and issued a youth caution by police.
September 25th staff at a store reported a shoplifting incident involving a female who left the store without paying for merchandise. Police located the suspect, who was in possession of the stolen items, and issued her a warning.
September 26th staff at a store reported two unrelated thefts, each involving a female who left the store without paying for merchandise. Staff were able to retrieve a portion of stolen items from one of the females. These investigations are ongoing.
Chief Ryan Hunt says that many shoplifting incidents within a short period of time is unusual. However, looking at shoplifting incidents in general over the past six years, Winkler Police averages about 38 reports per year, and at this point in 2024 the figure is just below that number.
"Most shoplifting incidents involve a relatively small dollar value, however, incidents such as the one on September 22nd are not uncommon where individuals attend our community from some distance away, and attempt to steal large amounts of product from the big retail stores," noted the chief in an email to PembinaValleyOnline.
That September 22nd incident saw five people, two males and three females, from Winnipeg arrested after a retail store theft that day. All five are facing charges related to Possession of Goods Obtained by Crime, with four charged with Theft Under $5,000.
Chief Hunt noted Winkler Police officers have a fairly good track record of locating and apprehending individuals involved in cases like these.