The North Bay Police say a stolen shopping cart crackdown has yielded positive results.
The Service announced they would be cracking down on the theft of shopping carts back in October.
“The theft of shopping carts is a serious financial hit against businesses in our community,” says Inspector of Operations Jeff Warner in a release in the fall.
“The members of the North Bay Police Service have an obligation to our local business community to do our part to combat the ongoing issue of shopping cart thefts."
See related: Stolen shopping cart crackdown: 'Theft is theft'
See related: Stolen shopping cart crackdown imminent
Shopping cart thefts can cost local businesses thousands of dollars over the course of a year. The North Bay Police estimate the carts can be worth about $300 each to replace.
Constable Merv Shantz, corporate communications officer for the service, believes no charges were laid but the crackdown made a difference.
"A number of shopping carts were recovered, however, I don’t believe any charges were laid," Constable Shantz told BayToday.
"In most cases, people either called us about abandoned carts or brought them to HQ and they were returned to their rightful owners."
Shantz says the Service has heard from local businesses that there has been an ongoing issue with the theft of shopping carts.
