Windsor police say a new strategy is curbing store thefts

Windsor police say a new strategy is helping them curb theft at local stores, resulting in nearly 200 arrests in under a year.

The Windsor Police Service on Tuesday announced that the retail theft initiative, launched last July in response to "an increase in shoplifting incidents over recent years," has led to 192 arrests.

WPS says it has also cleared more cases since the project started, solving "528 shoplifting-related incidents," which the force said was a 34 per cent increase compared to the year before.

"So far in 2025, the number of shoplifting incidents reported to police has dropped 33 per cent over the same time last year," the press release said. 

"We recognize that retail theft has a tremendous impact on businesses and often leads to increased prices for customers and even violence against employees," Jason Crowley, Windsor police's deputy chief of operations, was quoted as saying in the release. 

"Through this initiative, we are strategically aligning our resources to improve clearance rates and more effectively target the repeat offenders responsible for a disproportionate number of these crimes," he said. 

The force said that nearly 45 per cent of those charged in the shoplifting cases were repeat offenders.

As part of the initiative, Windsor police created a new retail theft coordinator role and worked "closely" with other police forces "to target organized theft rings operating in various jurisdictions," the release said.

WPS also "strengthened relationships with both the Retail Council of Canada and the local business community" and improved an online crime reporting tool to make "it easier for retailers to continue to report store thefts."

"This increased accessibility has led to a 95 per cent reporting compliance rate from retailers – up from just 79 per cent before the initiative launched," the release said.

That has led to better data collection that allowed WPS to "deploy resources where they are needed most."

Still, there have been a number of high-profile store thefts in recent months. In April, a suspect made off with $50,000 in jewellery after a smash-and-grab-style robbery at Tecumseh Mall and attempted a second theft at the shopping centre two days later before being arrested.

Windsor police say anyone with information about store thefts or organized retail crime should call them at 519-255-6700, ext. 4000 or contact Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477 (TIPS).