Police say liquor store ID scanners drastically cut crime
City police are asking the province to help more liquor stores install ID scanners after they say a pilot in three Edmonton stores led to a 93-per-cent drop in thefts from last year.
The three Alcanna-owned liquor stores that were part of the pilot had a total of 36 incidents so far in 2020, compared to 592 thefts and violent incidents last year, Const. Ben Davis said at a news conference Tuesday.
The pilot is being expanded to 10 locations in Alberta early next year, including six more in Edmonton and four in Calgary.
“Above all, the staff at these locations feel safer, the risk of violence is greatly reduced,” he said.
Davis said the pilot is being expanded now, despite Alberta's privacy watchdog not having completed its review, after two violent robberies in Edmonton last Thursday.
“Staff members and an (officer) effecting an arrest were bear sprayed. That forced our hand, that was it. We can't sit idly in the shadows and wait for a catalyst event. We have no control over when it's going to happen. We've come very close, we're walking a fine line, so we're doing this today as a necessity, as a duty to warn the public and advise them of what we're dealing with in hopes of gaining some support.”
He said stolen liquor has become street-level currency.
“What that means is it's so accessible is we're using stolen liquor used to facilitate the purchase of drugs, to secure accommodations and flop houses, to pay off street-level drug debts, or even sold for cash,” he said.
“It's a very lucrative avenue for the offender, it's a very lucrative avenue for those who are paying for liquor at usually half the face value, I can confirm that illegitimate businesses within this city do exist.”
The company said in July that, amid the pandemic, all stores across Edmonton had seen a nearly 90-per-cent drop in thefts.
Alcanna owns and operates Wine and Beyond, Liquor Depot, Ace Liquor, Solo Liquor and Brown Jug, as well as Nova Cannabis.