No one should be scared to go to work. Yet for too many retail workers in Brampton, that fear has become part of the job.
I hear about it in my office all the time. Brazen thefts at pharmacies, liquor stores and shopping plazas. Packages stolen from doorsteps. Videos of it going viral. This is not shoplifting. Behind many of these incidents are sophisticated criminal networks that move across municipal borders and care about one thing, which is profit.
The numbers show how fast it is growing. Peel Regional Police laid 2,210 retail theft charges in all of 2025. By the end of August this year, they had already laid 2,241.
For a business owner, that means lost inventory, financial pressure and worry for their staff. For employees, it can mean intimidation or violence. For customers, it means witnessing something dangerous while doing their everyday shopping. Rui Rodrigues of the Retail Council of Canada said he has heard of more weapons and more harm to retail workers in the last two years than in the previous 28 years of his career.
That is why Peel Regional Police brought police leaders, retailers and the Province together for the Retail Organized Crime Conference. We have seen this approach work. When Peel hosted a national summit on auto theft, we found the gaps, expanded our auto theft units and worked with the courts. Auto theft is down dramatically. Retail crime deserves the same collective response.
Peel is already getting results. Since its mandate expanded this spring, the Break, Enter, Auto and Retail Theft (BEAR) Unit has made 53 arrests, laid 263 charges and recovered more than $1 million in stolen property. Deputy Chief Marc Andrews announced that BEAR will expand to every division in Brampton and Mississauga in 2027.
Peel Police also renewed its partnership with the Retail Council of Canada on targeted retail blitzes. That work has led to 63 arrests and 158 charges so far this year.
The Province is at the table too. Solicitor General Michael Kerzner spoke about Bill 119, the Protecting Ontario Streets and Communities Act, which would create major theft prosecution response teams to prioritize the most serious cases.
Thank you to the frontline officers who take on these networks every day. Brampton fully supports this effort.
Read the Peel Regional Police media release.
Media Quote
“Criminal networks don’t care about municipal borders. They care about profit. To every business owner, worker and shopper who is frustrated, we hear you, and this coordinated effort is how we fight back.”
Patrick Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton
