The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Jan. 25, edition that retailers are alarmed by a sharp rise in shoplifting, which is increasingly linked to organized crime and becoming more violent. The Globe's Susan Krashinsky Robertson writes that in 2024, Canadian retailers lost an estimated $9.1-billion to theft, up from about $5-billion in 2018. The Retail Council of Canada noted that about 45 per cent of incidents involved violence against staff or customers. Organized crime is "responsible for significant losses across the retail industry," Amazon Canada spokesman Octavia Roufogalis wrote in an e-mailed statement, adding that the company spends more than $1-billion annually to combat fraud and abuse, and regularly requests proof of sourcing from Amazon sellers accused of peddling stolen merchandise. "Amazon has zero tolerance for the sale of stolen goods." In a Toronto Real Canadian Superstore, Dean Henrico highlights Loblaw's security measures, including TV screens linked to 130 security cameras that display "recording in progress" to deter theft. Many retailers now have policies discouraging staff from intervening in thefts for safety reasons, opting for trained security personnel or off-duty police instead.