Alcanna, which owns Liquor Depot, Ace Liquor and Wine and Beyond stores, installed the ID scanners in three locations in January in response to a spike in liquor store thefts across Alberta over the previous 18 months. Statistics from Edmonton police confirmed Burns' statement, noting a 91 per cent decrease in liquor theft at the three locations using ID scanners. The reduction in thefts is encouraging but it's too soon to draw conclusions, said Ivonne Martinez, president of the Alberta Liquor Store Association. Having more stores participate in the program will help determine if the ID scanners are reducing liquor store thefts overall, Burns said. Reducing liquor store thefts won't be accomplished with ID scanners alone, said Martinez, who sits on a provincial working group tasked with looking at the problem.

Source: CBC News June 29, 2020 12:56 UTC