Viral security camera and cellphone videos taken in the last two years show groups of masked robbers who appear to be young males wearing dark clothing, entering jewelry stores in malls and streetfront shops. They are brazenly using hammers to smash glass, filling bags with jewelry and running off to getaway vehicles before police arrive. <\/p>\n
CBC\u2019s the fifth estate compiled a list of these types of incidents in Ontario from police media releases, police statistics and media reports. We found there have been at least 60 incidents in the province just this year. <\/p>\n
Our investigation also reveals a growing number of minors are being recruited by adults to carry out the crimes and told if they are caught, as youths, they would face little or no time in custody. <\/p>\n
Police units the fifth estate spoke to say the number of youths involved in smash and grab robberies is unprecedented. <\/p>\n
WATCH | Police find a mound of potential evidence they believe is linked to robberies:<\/strong> Police find a mound of potential evidence they believe is linked to robberies<\/p>\n Detectives from York Regional Police\u2019s hold-up unit recovered potential evidence, including hammers, jewelry and broken glass they believe is linked to a series of smash and grab robberies.<\/p>\n The fifth estate was granted access for a week in July to YRP\u2019s holdup unit to witness first-hand how police are tackling the problem. The unit investigates violent robberies in York Region and works closely on smash-and-grab cases with other police units in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). <\/p>\n The day police discovered that mound of potential evidence after executing a search warrant in the east-end Toronto apartment, they found an even bigger surprise. <\/p>\n Inside what police call a \u201cflophouse\u201d was a 19-year-old man who they believe was connected to that series of 11 jewelry store robberies they\u2019d been investigating for weeks. He was arrested and charged with offences related to stolen jewelry, vehicles and a home invasion. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a great lead for our case. Not in every case do you recover amounts of stolen property,\u201d said Boulay.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \u201cWhere it was going to go from here, I don’t know, but it’s certainly giving us that in-between point that we’re always looking for.\u201d <\/p>\n Investigators from York Regional Police and neighbouring Peel Regional Police, which covers Brampton and Mississauga, say what\u2019s different about these heists is it appears minors are being recruited by adults to commit the crimes to take advantage of the bail system and laws that offer lesser punishment for youth convicted of crimes.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’ve got very young [people] committing very violent crimes,\u201d said Peel Regional Police Insp. Sean Brennan. \u201cIt’s kind of a new gamechanger for us.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe need deterrents.\u201d <\/p>\n Jewellers on high alert<\/strong> <\/p>\n Jewelry store operators say a lack of deterrents has rattled owners and customers.<\/p>\n Jerry Sorani is locking the doors to his store Jewellery Forever during business hours for the first time in the 17 years he\u2019s been in the CF Markville Mall store in Markham.<\/p>\n The store has been targeted by masked intruders three times in less than a year. <\/p>\n Fed up after seeing a group of approximately 10 individuals attacking Lukfook Jewellery, a jewelry store in the same mall, last December, Sorani posted surveillance footage captured two months earlier of himself armed with a broomstick fighting off three males who were smashing his display case. It went viral. <\/p>\n \u201cI think it brought a lot of people to realize: \u2018Oh, it’s not just only one or two locations, it\u2019s happening almost everywhere,\u2019\u201d Sorani said. <\/p>\n In fact, the third incident at his store is one of the 11 in the series being investigated by York Regional Police. <\/p>\n While Sorani and his colleague managed to chase away the suspects before they could grab anything in all three incidents, the risks have caused their insurance premiums to rise. The locked doors aren\u2019t helping business either. <\/p>\n WATCH | Security expert talks about how jewellers can protect against violent robbery:<\/strong> Security expert talks about how jewellers can protect against violent robbery<\/p>\n Scott Hayes, a former RCMP officer and security adviser for Jewelry Vigilance Canada, explains to the fifth estate host Ioanna Roumeliotis how jewellers can minimize chances of being robbed.<\/p>\n Beyond Jewellery Forever, few owners and staff of jewelry stores in the GTA that have been attacked would agree to an interview with the fifth estate about their experiences and what\u2019s happening in the industry, out of what many described as fear of retribution and spooking customers. <\/p>\n In many cases, larger chain stores with open entries in malls are targeted, including Peoples Jewellers and Michael Hill. Neither responded to the fifth estate\u2019s email requests for interviews. <\/p>\n \u201cJewelry store robberies aren’t new, but what I think is new in the last couple of years is how violent and brazen it’s becoming,\u201d said Scott Hayes, a former RCMP investigator who works as a security adviser for Jewellers Vigilance Canada, the arm of the Canadian Jewellers Association that works to prevent crime in the industry. <\/p>\n Hayes said police have a hard time keeping up with the suspects because they move so quickly. Tracing stolen merchandise is also a challenge, he said, because it\u2019s not clear who exactly is buying the stolen jewelry or melting down the gold. <\/p>\n \u201cIt gets put into other jewelry and then resold so most of this jewelry ends up back on the legitimate market.\u201d <\/p>\n Loosely organized crime groups recruiting youth: police<\/strong> <\/p>\n Two weeks after York police\u2019s investigation led to the arrest in Toronto\u2019s east end, Peel Regional Police announced Project Night Train, which it says took down two criminal networks responsible for violent jewelry store robberies, home invasions and carjackings in the GTA. <\/p>\n Police say the project focused on 17 violent incidents, which occurred from mid to late 2024, involving stolen property, including luxury vehicles, jewelry, designer bags and clothing, valued at $2 million. <\/p>\n Thirteen individuals were charged, six of whom were minors at the time of their arrests, including a 15-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re seeing the same players again and again and you’re seeing people revictimized or new victims,\u201d said Brennan. <\/p>\n His Peel Regional Police unit released video of a bold robbery at Karolbagh Jewellers in Brampton that lasted just one minute and 12 seconds. In that video, at least eight people hastily climb through smashed windows in broad daylight in front of onlookers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve never seen the prevalence of young persons committing crimes at these levels, ever. It’s disturbing,\u201d said Brennan, adding that on average over the past three years, 40 per cent of the cases his unit handled, including jewelry store robberies, involved minors. <\/p>\n Det. Justin Shoniker, who led the Project Night Train investigation, said it appears young people who may be at risk are approached in person and then connect via social media. <\/p>\n WATCH | Police break down challenges of identifying smash-and-grab suspects:<\/strong> Police break down challenges of identifying smash-and-grab suspects <\/p>\n Peel Regional Police Det. Justin Shoniker describes one of the most brazen smash-and-grab cases he investigated and says the suspects often don\u2019t even know each other.<\/p>\n There doesn’t appear to be one mastermind, he said. Instead, there are loosely organized networks of individuals planning the crimes, usually on group chats.<\/p>\n \u201cThey call it a mission. They’ll organize a spot to meet. So in essence these people, the offenders getting together, may have never met each other before,\u201d said Shoniker.<\/p>\n Son promised $2,000 for job, mother<\/strong> says<\/p>\n The fifth estate spoke to a mother whose 16-year-old son is charged in several jewelry store robberies in the GTA and other parts of Ontario.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police told me that there is a group of adults that were recruiting them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She cannot be identified to protect her son\u2019s identity under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said that he was approached by somebody who told him that he wanted to see young teens make money and flourish. And he was like, \u2018This guy just wants us to, he wants to see us do better because you know there’s not a lot of options for us.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI told him that it sounded very predatory.\u201d<\/p>\n She said her son was promised at least $2,000 and told that it\u2019s a victimless crime because the jewelry stores have insurance.<\/p>\n Money, freedom, the ability to buy new clothes and impress others are all part of the appeal, she said.<\/p>\n Multi-pronged crimes<\/strong><\/p>\n The overall crime rate in Canada has been fairly stable<\/a> for the last decade. But the rate of violent crime has been inching up. <\/p>\n In York Region alone, the number of jewelry store robberies doubled last year and is set to surpass that total by the end of 2025 \u2014 a trend that has been noted across the Greater Toronto Area.<\/p>\n According to Toronto Police Services, the number of jewelry store robberies climbed from 10 in 2020 to 48 last year. Toronto police report there have been 27 to date this year.<\/p>\n While the youth crime rate had been trending downwards for the last two decades, according to Statistics Canada, from 2022 to 2023, the rate of youth crime for most offences went up<\/a>, with a 10 per cent increase in violent crimes during that time. <\/p>\n Police say a pattern has emerged when it comes to these kinds of smash-and-grab robberies. They aren\u2019t happening in isolation \u2014 in many cases they are related to home invasions and vehicle thefts.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re looking to fund lifestyles and advance further criminality\u2026. So it’s profit-driven. And there’s large money available with the auto theft equation that we know that is complex and many layers to that as well,\u201d said Brennan.<\/p>\n \u201cHome invasions, unfortunately, are part of that \u2014 with the vehicles \u2014 and something new that we’ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729833_642_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729834_526_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729835_494_default.jpg\")
Peel Regional Police meet to discuss recent robberies. They say at least six of the 13 suspects in a recent series of jewelry store robberies and home invasions are minors, some of whom were recruited by adults. (Saeed Dehghani\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729836_202_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729837_723_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729838_852_default.jpg\")
An Ontario family was held at gunpoint while masked intruders demanded the keys to their luxury SUV parked in their driveway. (Submitted by name withheld)<\/p>\n![\"Metal](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729839_164_default.jpg\")
After masked intruders stormed into their home demanding the keys to their luxury SUV, a family has installed more security measures, including rolling aluminum shutters on their doors and windows. (Ousama Farag\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729840_928_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763729840_44_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n