Peel Regional Police are taking the fight against retail theft to the boardroom — at least for two days.

The local police force, tasked to battle crime in Mississauga and Brampton, is hosting a province-wide Retail Organized Crime Conference Tuesday and Wednesday at the Hyatt Place Toronto in Mississauga.

“The two-day conference brings together law enforcement agencies, retail industry leaders and public safety partners from across Ontario to discuss emerging trends, investigative best practices and partnership-driven solutions to disrupt organized retail crime networks,” Peel police said in a news release Monday.

The conference gets underway Tuesday morning.

Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah and Peel police Deputy Chief Marc Andrews along with Peel Police Service Board vice-chair Omar Khan will welcome conference guests that include Ontario Solicitor Genera Michael Kerzner and the Retail Council of Canada’s Rui Rodrigues.

When not talking about ways to reduce retail theft, police in Peel say they’ve been delivering blows to those who commit such crimes in Mississauga and Brampton.

New specialized unit of police officers

Peel Regional Police formed a specialized unit of officers in September 2025 to tackle crime that includes break-ins and the taking from retail businesses of large amounts of goods such as jewelry, clothes and other items.

Speaking at a press conference in July at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga’s downtown core, Andrews said the force’s increased focus on a crime that’s “become endemic in our community” has paid off so far.

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While the number of retail thefts across the region has remained consistent in Peel in the past 12 months, the number of arrests and charges has increased by more than 30 per cent, the deputy chief noted earlier, adding the activity the culprits are taking part in “is not petty crime.”

Along with other Peel police brass and officers on hand July 3 at Ontario’s largest shopping centre, Andrews revealed details of an operation that led to an arrest in connection with an April 30 heist of nearly $1 million in jewelry and clothes from Holt Renfrew at Square One. Police said most of the stolen goods were recovered.

Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Marc Andrews speaks to the media in July at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga.

“Retail theft has a direct and significant impact on local businesses and the broader community,” said Andrews. “Incidents like this not only result in financial loss but undermine the sense of safety for those who live and work in our region.”

Police in Peel said this past summer they’re also battling retail thefts in another way.

Having participated in a national conference held in Mississauga this past March that brought police and corporate asset protection teams together to talk about ways to put a dent in retail thefts, Peel police noted in July they were eagerly anticipating this week’s conference.

The local law enforcement agency said the Oct. 6-7 conference brings together partners “to advance collaboration and develop a unified approach to disrupting organized retail crime that impacts our communities.”

BEAR squad called into action 

Formed in September 2025, the Peel police Break-and-Enter Auto and Retail organized crime squad, aka BEAR unit, led the recent investigation into the major theft at Holt Renfrew.

The BEAR squad is a crime-fighting team put together to reduce break-ins and car thefts in Mississauga and Brampton. It utilizes a specialized unit of plainclothes officers that targets “organized break-and-enter and auto-related crimes.”

The squad is part of a pilot project designed to “enhance enforcement, strengthen victim support and proactively disrupt criminal networks affecting communities across Peel,” police said earlier.

The BEAR unit was established “after a growing trend of calculated and coordinated crimes was identified in Peel, including break-and-enters and auto theft,” police noted earlier.


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