Winnipeg police have arrested and charged a 25-year-old woman in connection to 19 thefts between June and August worth an estimated $3760 at Winnipeg Liquor Mart locations. The charges were laid after the woman was confronted and detained by security guards this week at a clothing store in St. Vital Centre.
This latest arrest comes ahead of a meeting planned between the union representing Liquor Mart employees and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries to deal with a recent spike in thefts happening at Liquor Marts.
Const. Jay Murray said around one week prior to the arrest, a suspect with around $95 in merchandise attempted to leave a clothing store without paying. When confronted by security guards, Murray said a woman told them she had bear spray and a knife and threatened the guards before walking out of the store.
Murray said the same suspect returned to the same store Monday night and attempted to leave with $200 in unpaid merchandise. A woman was confronted by guards again and this time was restrained until police arrived who took a woman into custody.
Police believe the same suspect was also involved in a theft at a clothing store in the Polo Park area involving the theft of around $360 in merchandise. Two suspects were confronted by a store employee and one produced a metal pipe and threatened the employee before both suspects left the store.
Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Michelle Gawronsky said this recent arrest underscores the need for solutions to the theft problem at Liquor Marts.
“We’ve had many, many suggestions and many ideas and our members are the ones that know what’s going on in the liquor stores,” said Gawronsky. “They know where the concerns are and they are best suited to be able to bring forward those suggestions and ideas and we need an opportunity to sit down with management.”
A meeting between the union and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is planned for next week.
When asked why security guards at a retail clothing store would detain a suspect, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries spokesperson Andrea Kowal said she can’t comment on what happened at St. Vital Centre, pointing to the Crown corporation’s policy for security guards and employees.
Under that policy, employees and security guards have been directed not to physically intervene with suspected thieves for safety reasons.
According to Manitoba Justice a security guard has the same power of arrest as a private citizen but nothing beyond.
James Waldner's company 494 Security Services trains security guards and specializes in loss prevention.
He said it’s not unusual for a security guard’s response to differ from store to store, because different businesses have different policies.
"A security guard's three main duties are to observe, deter and report,” said Waldner. “If they do want to take physical restraint over a suspect, that they suspect that they have encountered they have to see it with their own eyes. If they don't, they cannot make an arrest or accuse anybody for stealing.”
"A lot of the time it's up to their discretion as well. Do I want to put myself, and my safety and the customer's safety and employee's safety into jeopardy by making an arrest on this person."
