Retail thefts rising in Regina, police taking targeted approach

A string of retail thefts in Regina is leading the police to take a more targeted approach to combat the issue. Damian Smith reports.

Due to a rise in retail theft, the Regina Police Service (RPS) is taking a more targeted approach, identifying ongoing crime trends, locations and repeat offenders.

“It’s really been successful and it’s intentional,” RPS Chief Lorilee Davies said. “It’s a partnership with our investigative units and our patrol officers to really highlight the areas where we have had high calls for service, high victimization. It really is about holding those offenders accountable.”

One victim of recent break-ins has been Bellezza Moda Beauty & Fashion, specifically at the east location. Bellezza Moda has another location on the south side of Regina, as well as one in Moose Jaw.

In September 2023, the east location was broken into, with thieves leaving with jewelry, as well as smashing the glass cabinets that held the jewelry itself.

“We still have lasting impacts, obviously,” said owner Jasmine Paterson. “Our insurance payout took about nine months to do, and we’re still finding glass around the store with our robot vacuum even almost three years later.”

In another unrelated break-in during March 2025, they had another person enter the back of the building. Paterson told CTV that the person that entered was saying, “Hello, hello?” but didn’t leave any items or cause damage.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 57 per cent of Saskatchewan business owners report seeing an increase of crime in their local neighbourhood. This crime could include theft, vandalism, as well as breaking and entering.

The CFIB sends out a survey every month to its members.

“It’s usually the businesses that are a little bit more front-customer facing that are impacted more,” said SeoRhin Yoo, the senior policy analyst for interprovincial affairs with the CFIB. “Businesses like retail report crime and safety issues in their neighbourhood because they are the ones that are having to interact with them more, and they have physical storefronts.”

With a total of eight security cameras, Paterson says the cost of the devices remains inexpensive. She says an HD camera costs around $250.

However, hiring security guards at the east location doesn’t make sense financially.

“As a small business owner, it’s not really something that’s financially feasible,” she said. “We’ve talked about it even amongst our staff; we just can’t really see it being something feasible because it is the cost of a full-time employee.”

After 12 years in business that once started in her high school locker, Paterson looks to have Bellezza Moda shine on.

“Focus on the good customers and don’t worry about the ones that are trying to cause you trouble,” she said.

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The CFIB says that businesses are trying to be more accommodating with the mental health of their workers, especially with the increase of shoplifting. According to the CFIB, police-reported shoplifting (under $5,000) saw a 66 per cent increase from 2014-2024.

“It’s making a lot of these business owners more resilient, which is great to see,” Yoo said.

Yoo said that Canada is seeing an “entrepreneurial drought,” where more small business entrepreneurs leave than join, due to the risk of crime and safety.

“It kind of just adds fuel to the fire,” she said. “We are hoping that a lot of the politicians across the country, policymakers are taking crime and safety issues as priority. A lot of the time, what we’re hearing is that small businesses, and the issues that they’re facing, are not being taken into consideration.”