‘Ready for a fight’: Risks mounting for Kamloops corner store owner losing battle against crime

Nestled among a residential neighbourhood and three schools in the west end of Kamloops is a convenience store that has been a cornerstone of the area for more than two decades.

Parkcrest Neighbourhood Store is a family-operated hub where community members gather to chat or buy lottery tickets, a destination for kids on bikes to get candy.

It’s a comfortable, safe place full of familiar faces.

At least, it was.

Anju Sandhu, who runs the store with her husband Pardeep Sandhu, told iNFOnews.ca her feeling of safety has deteriorated in the past few years due to criminal activity and she isn’t certain for how long she will keep her doors open.

“I’ve known so many people over the years and watched teenagers grow up and bring their kids in here, this is our life and we love our customers,” she said. “I was talking to my husband yesterday, and it really breaks my heart, but I’m not sure how long I can put up with this for.”

Like so many cities throughout BC, Kamloops is facing a complex crisis involving crime, homelessness and drug addiction, with communities expressing a growing frustration with property crime.

For the first 14 years, the little store – located far from city centre – had just one break in where cigars were stolen, and one smashed window from a man in a domestic dispute with his partner.

In 2022, after businesses in the downtown core had already been raising concerns about thefts and damages for some time, the store was victim to a string of robberies, and the criminal activity has only grown worse.

Anju said there are drug users shooting up in the parking lot as kids are coming and going. She is worried about her staff working late at night, and the thieves coming in to steal are increasingly brazen.

She doesn’t get a swift response from police and despite having cameras, the surveillance footage is often useless because the thieves are covered up in hoodies. It isn’t in her budget to pay for a security guard.

In the past two months, the mother of two has taken matters into her own hands, despite concerns from her family.

“I’m literally following people and ready for a fight,” she said. “The other day a girl came in with a big backpack and filled it with beef jerky and ice cream bars. I was telling her to leave the stuff on the counter but she left cursing and I ran after her and we got into a scuffle, and she threatened to hit me.

“A lot of customers gave me grief about that, but for a small business, I can’t watch someone walk out with 200 dollars of my stuff, I don’t even make that much in a day.”

A fridge at the back of the store containing Haagen Dazs ice cream already has a lock on it after an attempted theft last month.

“I was in the back and this guy started walking out the door with his pant legs stuffed with ice cream so I yelled at him asking what he was doing and he didn’t answer,” she said. “I grabbed a metal rod and went after him and told him I’d break his legs and his bike if he didn’t give it all back.

“It’s a shame in a small, tightly knit neighbourhood we now have to have locks on freezers.”

For the first time in two decades, Anju has posted a grainy photograph of one the repeat offenders by the till to help her employees identify him.

“He is a person off the street and he’s been robbing us for awhile,” she said. “I don’t want my employees going after anyone, their security is important, so they’ll call me and I’ll run over.”

Anju isn’t only worried about her employees, she is worried about her young customers, the kids who come from surrounding schools at recess and on weekends to buy candy.

“The most disturbing thing is people using drugs hanging around outside,” she said. “They’re not mentally there, they’re under the influence. What if the voice in their head tells them to do something to a kid?

“You give your kid a toonie so they can go get a slushy at the store and someone’s using drugs in the parking lot.”

This summer, kids were instructed to bring their bikes and scooters into the store with them, instead of leaving them in the bike rack where they could easily be stolen.

“That bike rack doesn’t get used,” Anju said. “It should be put in a museum as a reminder of the times back in the day when we could safely leave bikes outside.”

Recently, on the evening of Aug. 6, someone overdosed in the parking lot. The ambulance picked them up and Anju doesn’t know what the outcome was.

What she does know is, she is having second thoughts about continuing to run the business.

“I feel like a caged animal and all these people on drugs are mocking us because we’re the ones paying and there is nothing I can do,” she said. “We’re not allowed to defend our own property, and it’s just getting worse because there are no consequences for committing crime.”

With the municipal election just weeks away, the issue of social disorder is top of mind for residents, business owners and candidates who are looking for solutions. Anju said she doesn’t see how they can make it better.

“I’m just not sure what our leaders can do on a local level, like, what actions they can actually take to influence change,” she said. “Something has to change or more businesses will shut down.”

As frustrated as she is, Anju is not without compassion. She is hoping so-called involuntary care facilities will open in Kamloops in the future.

“It isn’t right what these people are going through on the streets and I think we’re becoming numb to it,” she said. “I’m concerned about the women I see on the streets and what kind of abuse they’re enduring and what kind of dignity they must have lost. I’d rather not see them suffering and get some help.”

As the days grow shorter and winter is approaching, Anju said her anxiety about running the store is growing, along with her uncertainty about keeping the doors open going forward.

“Sometimes in winter when I’m working, I keep the door locked and don’t unlock it unless I see a familiar face,” she said. “But that’s crazy. That’s not how you do business.

“We work hard for this business. It’s a decision we make every day. Lately, it feels like we’re making the wrong decision.”

– This article was corrected at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 to clarify the subject’s first name.