B.C. retailer, business group ‘sending distress signal’ as crime and violence at crisis point: coalition

Some big-name retailers, business groups, and community associations believe street crime and violence have reached a crisis point in B.C., and will be pushing all levels of government to do more to solve it.

The new Save Our Streets (SOS) “public safety coalition” was announced Monday morning at an event near Hastings and Abbott streets in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood.

During the unveiling, London Drugs Chief Operating Officer and SOS chairperson Clint Mahlman explained the group is province-wide, and demands that all levels of government step up to end what he described as the “growing crime, violence and vandalism, and theft crisis impacting our local communities.”

“Every British Columbian knows that the escalation of crime and violence in our communities has reached epidemic proportions and it’s been building for a very long time. And governments and justice administration officials need to step up and do their jobs to make our streets safer,” Mahlman continued.

He says in his role at London Drugs, he never expected to be holding a news conference or that he’d be “authorizing certain staff members to be wearing stab vests, but that’s the extremes that we’re having to take to protect our staff.”

Mahlman says “SOS” is an internationally recognized signal for distress, and the formation of the coalition is “sending the distress alarm.”

The cost of retail theft, increased security measures, and paying for vandalism costs each B.C. family an average of $500 a year, Mahlman claims. He says these increased costs “at a time when they can least afford it.”

“Governments at all levels have responded in a piecemeal fashion but are not acting in unison or with a sense of urgency as the street-level problems continue to grow,” he added.

The SOS group includes prominent retailers like Aritzia, Lululemon, and business groups like the Great Vancouver Board of Trade.

In a statement prior to the announcement, SOS said British Columbians are “afraid to walk in their own streets and shopping districts,” adding employees fear being assaulted while at work.

“Local businesses are losing millions from brazen in-store theft that leads to higher prices for B.C. families,” it continued.

Recently, Mahlman described the issues his company is facing as a crisis in an interview with CityNews.

“All options now have to be on the table,” he said on Oct. 17.

“We’ve been trying to get through to governments of all stripes, of all political types, for decades and we just haven’t been able to get their attention at how important it is to protect our employees, not just at London Drugs, but all retailers.

“It’s come to the point, as we’ve seen, many small businesses have had to close due to high costs and one of those costs is theft and violence.”

Mahlman says more help is needed from government.

“They are responsible, accountable, and we elect them to help protect our citizens on our streets and our employees and we need them to find a solution for us. We can’t prescribe it for them because that is their role … but we are imploring them to find a way to help protect our employees and citizens.”

The provincial government previously announced a $10.5-million fund for small businesses to help recover costs from vandalism, in its first move to help retailers.

Starting on Nov. 22, the rebate program lets business owners apply for up to $2,000 for the cost of repairs due to vandalism, and up to $1,000 for prevention measures.

The rebate will be administered by the BC Chamber of Commerce.