Spike in downtown Maple Ridge crime has businesses calling for help

Some business owners in Maple Ridge say they need help after a spike in crime in the city’s downtown core over the past month.

“I’m definitely exhausted from lack of sleep, because all I’m doing is watching my security cameras all night long because I’m so afraid,” Naomi Corr, owner of Town and Country Vintage Home, told CityNews.

“We got broken into — a smash and grab early Sunday morning,” she said. “They smashed out the front door window and the glass was just everywhere. They came in and grabbed everything from our jewelry section.”

Taylor Livesy owns Vanilla Bean Bake Shop at the nearby Haney Place Mall and says crime is getting worse in downtown Maple Ridge. She was also recently targeted — the thief taking cash, a tablet, and leaving a lot of damage.

“Every other week you hear about your favourite local small business getting broken into or vandalized. Recently we were broken into and robbed and it is devastating. You put your heart and soul into something and you put yourself out there in a way that’s really vulnerable,” she said.

“To have someone come into your space and take whatever they want, it’s not about the loss, it’s about the feeling of being invaded and scared.”

Corr says the community of Maple Ridge is amazing, but local business owners need help.

“We need more patrolling, we need more security measures, not just ‘sorry that happened’. I mean, I’ve had stuff taken from people within my shop and I’ve given them the opportunity to do better, and they’ve come back and done it again.

“I’ve had police say to me it’s not worth their time because they will just end up with a slap on the wrist. These people know this so they continue to break in.”

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Livesy would also like to see more of a police presence in Maple Ridge’s downtown core overnight when many of the break-ins occur.

“Just let people know that there are people who are here all the time, making sure the space is secure. … The people who are committing these crimes don’t care about cameras, they just put their hood up or wear a mask. We need to have more physical presence so when someone is standing at my door for 10 minutes drilling out the lock, somebody patrols by. That’s what needs to happen.”

Livesy says she recognizes there are larger social issues involved, but something needs to change.

“What we need to focus on right now is just trying to find a solution as quick as possible because the crimes are happening faster than the solutions are able to be established.”

Break-ins and theft can cost small business owners thousands of dollars in losses, damage, and mitigation, even after insurance.

Maple Ridge Coun. Ahmed Yousef also feels solutions are overdue.

“We’ve seen numerous businesses in our downtown core area being assaulted in various ways, be it break and enters, be it smash and grabs, be it being set on fire. We had an incident where someone put a flare into one of our downtown shops.

“The Downtown Business Improvement Association has done a stellar job of improving lighting, of cleaning up graffiti, and looking after our downtown business, and the businesses themselves are doing more than their part in the way of having to put up steel and security gates, they’ve tried to secure their properties.”

“The failure is where criminal activity continues to happen without repercussions, without any consequences,” Yousef said.

Yousef calls small- and medium-sized businesses the backbone of the local economy and he believes they are at risk.

“We can’t shop when our downtown businesses are leaving.”

Ridge Meadows RCMP says it is taking action against what it calls “a slight uptick” in break-and-enters and thefts in the downtown core.

In a release, the Mounties say they will be “increasing overt patrols in the downtown core to directly deal with any concerns” as well as enlisting the help of volunteers and safety ambassadors.

“Ridge Meadows Crime Reduction Unit and Street Enforcement Units will be utilizing the crime data to develop targeted strategies to deter the criminality occurring in the downtown core and hold those committing these crimes accountable for their actions.”

Meanwhile, Corr says her shop’s broken, boarded window has become a community rallying point.

“We’ve turned that board from a negative into a positive. People can come and sign it. We’ve put markers and we’ve had a lot of local businesses and families combine support and write positive messages to the community. We’ve had hearts put up, stickers, we’ve had little kids sign it, and there are Valentines. And we kept the rock and we are getting people to sign that as well!”

Corr is asking people to spread that sentiment to all of Maple Ridge’s local businesses.

“Just support your local businesses. We need this more now than ever.”