Business losses to crime on the rise in Kamloops

Damage and theft is an ever-increasing cost for Kamloops businesses that are reporting another increase in losses this year.

Jeremy Heighton of the North Shore Business Association said its annual survey tallied a 27 per cent increase, following nearly a $1 million total from participating businesses in 2024.

“For the most part, psychological and perception trends continue to be egregious,” Heighton told iNFOnews.ca in advance of the final report’s release.

“The municipality is doing what they can do. They’ve increased patrols of RCMP and (bylaws) in business corridors, but where’s the province? Where’s the integrated case management and recovery-focused housing?”

Retailers take differing approaches with some largely taking a backseat when faced with a shoplifter or hiring security. The North Kamloops liquidator Surplus Herby’s, however, is more proactive.

Manager Maureen Wilsher said staff will call out shoplifters they spot, which is often successful, but she estimated the store still loses at least $200 each week to theft. She admitted staff will “judge” customers and, especially if they’ve been caught before, they’ll be told to leave.

“If they do get caught stealing, they don’t just walk out the door here,” she said. “We confront them. Usually nine out of ten times we get our products back after much arguing and yelling.”

It’s most often crimes of poverty and Wilsher, who has worked at the Tranquille Road location for more than two decades, said social issues like homelessness and public drug use have only worsened for businesses in the area.

“It’s gotten horrible. When I started here 25 years ago we had two hookers on the corner and that was it, and it was the same two ladies for like three years. That was the extent of it,” she said. “You’d watch them and toss them a chocolate bar once in a while, ask them to leave occassionally, and that was it. It’s completely different now.”

Wilsher added that while it’s customers who appear to be homeless that staff might monitor, there are also people who are known to be homeless that are regular customers and they have no issues.

Vandalism and other damage, meanwhile, has been largely curbed with investments like shutters to the windows, she said.

Kamloops RCMP has recorded a recent spike in shoplifting primarily at Sahali businesses, but crimes like shoplifting are difficult to quantify as businesses don’t always report them. Wilsher herself said staff only report more serious incidents to police.

Heighton with the business association said this is about people in crisis, needing more care or something.

Beyond the costs, Wilsher said staff are frequently confronted with the tragic cost of BC’s toxic drug crisis, discovering people amid overdoses near the store.

“Sure, there’s a bit of an adrenaline rush when you catch somebody and kick them out, but then there’s the overdoses, or you see very young people on the street,” she said. “I have very young staff and you can see it affects them.”

It’s not uncommon for staff to call first responders to the building after finding someone unresponsive outside, she said.

Despite the changes in the area, like a relatively new Ask Wellness shelter and the closure of The Loop drop-in centre, Wilsher said those services don’t appear to influence the visibility of homelessness along Tranquille Road aside from moving congregations of people to a new block along the corridor.