Nearly half of all retail theft suspects in Windsor are repeat offenders

A Windsor police initiative launched less than a year ago is delivering what officers call “a made-in-Windsor solution” to the rising problem of retail theft — and now, the results are in.

Since the July 2024 rollout of a new Retail Theft Initiative, police have made 192 arrests and cleared 528 shoplifting cases, a 34 per cent improvement over the previous year.

Key to that progress, according to Deputy Chief of Operations Jason Crowley, is the creation of a dedicated full-time retail theft coordinator — an officer assigned solely to tracking shoplifters, identifying repeat offenders, and supporting investigations across the city.