Police reported 61 incidents of shoplifting items valued at more than $5,000 in B.C. last year, accounting for a fifth of all such incidents in Canada.
Another 21,552 shoplifting cases (of items valued at $5,000 or less) were reported, a quarter of the national total (86,808), giving B.C. the highest rate (520 incidents per 100,000 population) among the provinces. The national rate was 274.
Seventy-three per cent of these cases were cleared by charge or otherwise in B.C.; nationally the clearance rate was 80 per cent.
Statistics Canada