33 suspects arrested, more than $11,000 in stolen goods recovered during Boost and Bust initiative at Metrotown

Burnaby

2024-01-05 12:31 PST

File # 23-36855

33 suspects were arrested for theft and approximately $11,600 worth of stolen merchandise was recovered after Burnaby RCMP’s latest Boost and Bust initiative, which took place at Metrotown between December 11 and 14, 2023.

The goal of the Boost and Bust is to combat shoplifting and strengthen community partnerships by taking a coordinated approach to retail theft. The latest initiative was led by Burnaby RCMP’s Community Response Team (CRT) and Bike Unit, which worked closely with Metrotown Security and Loss Prevention Officers as well as nearby police agencies.

Of the 33 suspects arrested during the four day period, one suspect was identified as a prolific offender, 12 had violent criminal history, two had warrants, and two others were found to be breaching court-ordered conditions.

Some of the items recovered from individual suspects included:

7 pairs of luxury sunglasses worth nearly $4,500 stolen from a retailer
$878 in clothing stolen from an athletic retailer
$1,000 in beauty items stolen from a big box store

In another instance, two knives were seized from a suspect who is alleged to have stolen nearly $1,900 worth of merchandise from a cosmetics retailer.

Two small silver folding knives with the word <q>Gerber</q> on the handle sit on a grey carpet

Two teens accused of shoplifting clothing were referred to Burnaby RCMP’s Youth Restorative Justice Program, which is designed to give youth offenders the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and learn from their mistakes outside of the criminal justice system.

Learn more: Burnaby RCMP Youth Services and Restorative Justice

This Boost and Bust happened over the busy holiday shopping season, and by working together with partners to tackle theft we were able to mitigate thousands of dollars in financial losses for our retail community, said Cpl. Laura Hirst with the Burnaby RCMP. We’d like to thank our partners for their assistance and we look forward to working with them on future Boost and Busts in 2024.

Seven pairs of sunglasses with tags on the arms sitting on a flat surface