Stephen Kim says Bicycle Sports Pacific lost $75,000 in merchandise last year. He was among 200 business owners and security professionals at a Vancouver police retail crime forum on Thursday
Vancouver bike shop co-owner Stephen Kim has reached his breaking point, overwhelmed by a relentless wave of shoplifting at his downtown store. After a string of thefts — including one where he was physically assaulted — Kim felt compelled to take matters into his own hands.
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In one recent incident, Kim ignored a 911 operator’s advice and followed the suspect down the block on foot.
“Within minutes, police showed up, arrested and charged (the suspect),” he said, his frustration palpable. “I never thought I’d have to be thinking so much about this. I really just want to sell bikes.”
Kim’s struggle is shared by countless small business owners across Vancouver, as a surge in shoplifting and violent robberies threatens their profits and the safety of their staff.
At the Vancouver Police Department’s Retail Crime Forum on Thursday, Insp. Marco Veronesi, commander of the downtown district, highlighted a concerning trend in front of 200 business owners and security professionals: Shoplifting is rising across the city, and so is the violence that has come with it.
“Retail workers didn’t sign up to work a job where they’re standing behind a counter and have someone come at them with a knife,” Veronesi said. “That’s what we’re trying to deal with — the revictimization of our retailers, and the costs.”
In 2024, shoplifting incidents across Vancouver rose by 12 per cent compared with 2023, from 6,883 to 7,686, while robberies increased by three per cent. The downtown core was hardest hit, with a 40 per cent rise in reported shoplifting incidents last year.
Retail operations near major transit corridors, including Commercial-Broadway, Grandview Highway, the Burrard and Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain Station, were among the hot spots for these crimes.
While Veronesi and other pros at the forum offered advice on reducing shoplifting risks, they acknowledged there’s no foolproof solution.
“We have 43 calls holding at any given time. It can flood up to 60 or drop down to 30,” Veronesi said, noting that officers are always dealing with competing work demands.
On Feb. 24, the Vancouver police launched the seventh round of Barcode, a project aimed at targeting repeat shoplifting offenders in the city. The initiative resulted in 147 arrests, including several individuals who were arrested more than once. Over $42,000 worth of stolen property was recovered, and 16 weapons were seized, with 75 per cent of them being knives.
Vancouver police are in the process of creating a permanent unit to tackle retail theft and robberies, but the challenge remains limited resources.
“It takes a lot of resources for us. We have to dedicate 12 to 15 officers over an eight-to-15-day period, and those resources are pulled from our existing teams that are already responding to calls out on the street,” Veronesi explained.
He said that for large retail operations the financial toll of the city’s shoplifting problem has been steep. One downtown business reported a loss of $2.2 million in stolen merchandise in 2024.
“We are only recovering a fraction of that loss. If we’re lucky, we might recover 10 per cent of it,” Veronesi said.
For Kim’s store, Bicycle Sports Pacific, the problem has become unbearable. His shop is now a regular target for thieves, with stolen items ranging from e-bikes to gloves and locks. Last year, the store lost $75,000 in stolen merchandise, and now its employees are feeling more and more anxious about coming to work.
“I didn’t want to get involved, but I look at the anxiety of my team, and they’re asking, ‘How do we handle this?’ ” Kim said.
In response, the co-owner instructed his staff last summer that if they suspect anyone who walks through the door might be planning to shoplift, they should inform them that browsing and purchasing are only allowed by appointment.
“Theft was happening every day. Stores like us don’t have loss prevention officers, the LPOs are us,” Kim said.
For Kim and many other retailers, the battle against shoplifting has evolved into a fight to protect the safety of employees and the long-term viability of their businesses. These continuing losses have also impacted the store’s ability to expand or give raises to its employees.
“When we deal with shrinkage, the bottom line is that we’re left with fewer resources to grow,” Kim said.