More than half of charges dismissed after Vancouver shoplifting crackdown

Global News Vancouver gave an update yesterday on “Project Barcode,” a police crackdown on chronic and violent shoplifters. A three-week operation by the Vancouver police, in February and March, resulted in more than 200 arrests. But the executive director of a Vancouver BIA told Global that his organization is disappointed by the results of the crackdown—including the response of the courts. Police laid 278 charges during Project Barcode. A total of 155 cases, or 56 percent, have been thrown out by the crown.