Shoppers have been noticing that certain LCBO locations in and around Toronto are beefing up security measures, but squad cars bearing the "LCBO resource protection" branding have people asking some questions.

One customer saw one of these rare SUVs in the wild (that is, parked outside of their local outpost of the Crown corporation) on Sunday, and took to Reddit to try and see if anyone could shed light on what the heck it was for.

"What in the..." the person wrote along with a snapshot of the all-black vehicle, which was in the parking lot of the LCBO on Speedvale Avenue in Guelph.

The post quickly racked up nearly 2,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments of people wondering — or just joking about — what LCBO Resource Protection might actually do.

What in the …
byu/matt-and-jazz inontario

Amid a slew of drinking-related Trailer Park Boys references, many proposed duties and even mottos for this arm of the provincial alcohol retailer.

"If your family tries to stage an intervention about your drinking, you activate the chip on your LCBO customer card and the LCBO Resource Protection sends in an extraction team," one person suggested.

"He pulls you over to ask if you’ve been drinking enough tonight," another quipped.

"Drop a bottle on the curb, They'll be there. Knock the cherry from your J, They'll be there. Serve red wine with fish, They'll be there. LCBO Resource Protection. There for the Booze," reads another popular comment.

Others chimed in with their own anecdotes of theft they've witnessed at LCBO locations lately, surmising that these officials may be tasked with dealing with the uptick in such crimes. (Just last week, loss prevention officers at an LCBO in Vaughan had a knife pulled on them while trying to stop a theft.)

I've witnessed this at local LCBO hundreds stolen by one person at a time and thousands stolen by
"teams"

— Michael H Ballard (@ResilientMichae) February 13, 2024

According to a spokesperson for the chain, this division does tackle criminal activity affecting locations, though not in the way of any direct security presence.

"Combining investigative expertise with leading-edge technology and data and analytics, our Resource Protection team takes proactive, collaborative, and substantive actions to address criminal activity and other incidents at LCBO, working with police services," they told blogTO.

"From time-to-time, they visit stores in marked vehicles to discuss theft challenges or opportunities to employ more measures to deter theft and help keep both customers and employees safe."

One previous bust detailed on the agency's website took down the leaders of an organized theft group that was responsible for more than 120 repetitive, targeted incidents all over southern Ontario.

Some in the comments section of the Reddit thread rightfully deemed these employees "booze investigators," noting that they work with police to record and mitigate "big and reoccurring thefts."