1,500 shoplifting incidents reported at Ottawa LCBO locations over three months
More than 1,500 shoplifting incidents were reported at LCBO outlets in Ottawa during the final three months of 2023, as Ottawa police continue to see a rise in shoplifting incidents in the capital.
A new report for the Ottawa Police Services Board says of the 7,333 online crime reports filed in the fourth quarter of last year, shoplifting accounted for over 37 per cent of all reports. Staff say the number of shoplifting incidents in the October-December period was 76 per cent higher than the fourth quarter of 2022.
"The increase was driven in part by LCBO," staff say in the report for Monday's board meeting.
"(LCBO) reported more than 1,500 shoplifting incidents in 2023 Q4, compared to over 720 incidents in 2022 Q4."
The report notes the LCBO had previously limited online reports to 25 per day for all their locations, but reported 1,500 shoplifting incidents in the October-December period. The 1,500 shoplifting incidents in the fourth quarter of 2023 equals an average of 16 shoplifting incidents a day at LCBO outlets across the city.
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the LCBO notes theft and violent incidents are "on the rise across the retail industry."
"We are continuously looking for ways to minimize the impact of criminal activity while keeping our employees and customers safe," the LCBO said.
"The LCBO has multiple measures in place to deter theft, but we do not share details as it puts the effectiveness of our measures and the safety of our employees at risk. The LCBO will continue to take proactive, collaborative, and substantive actions with our partners to address shop theft, including working with police services."
There are 36 LCBO locations across Ottawa.
Police also reported a 50 per cent increase in shoplifting incidents in the April-June period of 2023.
Police see spike in calls in 2023
The Ottawa Police Service received over 427,000 calls for service in 2023, the highest number of calls in 10 years.
A report for the Ottawa Police Services Board says the number of calls for service was 15 per cent higher than the five-year average of 371,253, and up from the 370,315 calls for service in 2022.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, police received close to 91,000 calls for service, including 83,700 through the OPS computer-aided dispatch system.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6968646.1721316302!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING High-profile Liberal minister quitting cabinet, not running in next election
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan has announced he will not run in the next federal election, and will be quitting his cabinet position Friday.
What is Project 2025? A look at the conservative platform Joe Biden says 'will destroy America'
Its authors call it the U.S. conservative movement's 'mandate for leadership,' designed to guide a potential second term for former U.S. president Donald Trump.
B.C. woman who thought Coldplay concert 'was a date' must pay ex for ticket, tribunal rules
A B.C. woman has been ordered to repay her ex for a ticket to Coldplay's 2023 concert in Vancouver – in a small claims decision that highlights the distinction between gifts and loans under Canadian law.
Obama, Pelosi and U.S. Democrats make fresh push for Biden to reconsider 2024 race ahead of convention
Former president Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about President Joe Biden’s candidacy, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately warned Biden that Democrats could lose the ability to seize control in the House if he didn’t step away from the race.
'One screen, two movies': Conflicting conspiracy theories emerge from the Trump rally shooting
A former president is wounded in a shooting, the gunman quickly neutralized, and all of it is caught on camera. But for those who don't believe their eyes, that's just the start of the story.
See where abortions are banned and legal in the U.S. -- and where it's still in limbo
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated a constitutional right to abortion nationwide, nearly two dozen U.S. states have banned or limited access to the procedure.
Get it while you can, fish harvesters say, handing out free cod in downtown St. John's
The latest protest against Ottawa's decision to reopen a commercial cod fishery drew a good line in downtown St. John's
More Americans are searching online about moving to Canada. But will they come here?
In the last few weeks, there has been a surge in the number of Americans searching online about moving to Canada and recent political events appear to have been a major catalyst.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller's office vandalized in Montreal
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller's office in Montreal was vandalized early Thursday morning.