York Regional Police officers say they’re carrying out a three-month enforcement project aimed at cracking down on organized retail crime at various stores in Aurora, Newmarket and potentially elsewhere within the region.According to a statement issued by the service on Tuesday, the initiative — dubbed Project Wholesale — launched on June 1 and will run until Sept. 1. “The initiative aims to reduce financial losses for retailers, enhance safety and security and address the growing impact of organized retail crime in the community,” the statement said.“Retail theft has evolved from isolated, low-level incidents into a sophisticated and organized criminal enterprise. These offences contribute to significant financial losses for businesses and affect the safety and sense of security of both retailers and consumers.”Officers said “high-risk” retail locations were identified for patrols based on historical trends, intelligence from retailers, active investigations and data York Regional Police already have. A spokesperson for the service told CityNews the stores identified are traditional big-box outlets as well as stores that sell alcohol and hardware supplies.Related:2 Ajax trading card game shops latest in GTA to suffer major losses after brazen break-insRecent GTA robberies, thefts of high-end trading cards spark renewed calls for increased safetyOntario considers highway licence‑plate cameras to crack down on rising retail theftOrganized crime group accused of using smart glasses in retail fraud schemeIn recent months, CityNews has been following break-ins and thefts targeting trading card game shops across the Greater Toronto Area. The spokesperson said this enforcement project so far hasn’t included such stores, those types of businesses haven’t been excluded as the project moves forward.Rui Rodrigues, an advisor with the Retail Council of Canada, recently told CityNews that retail crime across the country has been a growing and serious problem.“The crimes being perpetrated against a retailer is beyond theft; it’s the violence against their employees,” he told CityNews.“The weapons that are being brought into retail on a regular basis, which years ago you rarely heard of that. It’s the ferocity of the theft of the items that are being perpetrated by organized groups that is then funding illicit marketplaces and the resale of stolen goods.”Rodrigues said a 2024 report found that based on responses received from various businesses, there were approximately $9.1 billion in retail losses. He said that’s up from 2017 and 2012 when the figures were closer to $5 billion and $4 billion, respectively.While Rodrigues praised the federal government for recently passing bail reform and other crime legislation, he said there’s more work to do related to privacy restrictions that hinder the sharing of information. He encouraged governments and other stakeholders to increase their efforts to crack down on retail crime.