Sault Blog

All too often, the news reports another occurrence of retail crime and violence perpetrated on the beleaguered retail sector in the Sault. Recently, employees were punched in the head trying to deal with a violent criminal at their workplace. Incredibly, this criminal perpetrator was arrested only to be released very quickly back onto “the street”.

It occurred to me that not only were the employees violated at their place of employment, but they were also re-violated when the assailant was quickly released as if he had done nothing wrong.

This “catch and release” policy sends two obvious messages: there is no immediate penalty for committing the crime, and the victim has no value. We no longer value the victim as a person with rights, we don’t respect this person as a valuable employee, and we don’t enforce law and order for the business in a free and orderly society.

How did it get this bad? We became desensitized as a society and as individuals. As a small business owner for decades, I just got used to it; I became desensitized to the crimes. Crime became an ever-present reality for the construction, renovation, and maintenance business; a constant theft of job-site plumbing, wiring, and other building materials; vandalism of built products; graffiti, tagging, littering, and garbage clean-up all became an unnecessary part of the job. Crime, theft, and the cost of job-site security became “just a part of doing business”, adding to skyrocketing costs of building materials and labour for construction projects.

I can describe the effects of crime on my business as expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating, but I never had to deal with the extreme challenge and danger of the grocery retail business. Recently, a retail employee described the extent of the criminality occurring at a local grocery store and the level of abuse and violence that arises when confronting criminals. Verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, spitting, biting, and physical assault are common occurrences for retail employees dealing with criminals.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business released the report “Broken windows and broken trust: The impact of rising crime on small business” identifying these report highlights:

➢ Nearly half (45%) of small businesses report being directly impacted by crime and community safety issues. This marks a dramatic increase from just 24% in 2023.

➢ Primary concerns among small businesses include waste and litter (63%), vandalism/breaking and entering (63%), and theft/shoplifting (60%).

➢ A significant majority of Canadian small business owners are dissatisfied with the way governments have been handling crime and safety issues: 79% feel the taxes they pay do not result in improvements, while 78% believe governments are not effectively collaborating to address these issues.

➢ More than half (54%) of business owners consistently file police reports when they experience community safety issues. However, only one-third (33%) are satisfied with police response times and services. The main reasons for not reporting include the belief that it will not make a difference (83%), a time-consuming process (55%), and the lack of police response (53%).
Canadian Federation of Independent Business CFIB.

Canada’s “catch and release” soft-on-crime bill allows criminal perpetrators to easily re-offend retail stores, amounting to what can only be described as urban terrorism. These individuals are arrested, but they are quickly released and re-offend. These individuals are no longer just criminals; they are, in fact, urban terrorists and should be treated as such.

Retail crime has changed the way retailers do business. Rarely seen prior to COVID, Private Security Guards are contracted at grocery, retail, convenience, liquor/beer stores, banks, etc. to deter theft/shoplifting. The policy of hiring Private Security Guards buffers the employees from criminals; however, it puts them in harm’s way, with limited authority to really deal with emboldened urban terrorists.

Retailers, convenience stores, and the hospitality sector have reduced operating hours. Gone are the all-night coffee shops; drive-thrus are now the only option. Evening hours have been eliminated from retail operations as these time frames are viewed as “when the problems happen.”

ATMs are closed after bank business hours, rendering customer convenience useless when cash is needed. Downtown Sault Retailer’s doors are locked, glass-front doors are replaced with solid doors, storefront windows are eliminated or reduced in size, and security bars, gates, and roll-downs are installed, all in an attempt to deter crime.

A new Sault Ste. Marie Police Downtown Station and Private Security patrols have been created to hopefully deter crime.

It seems we are spending a lot of time and money trying to mitigate the problem rather than deal with it directly. Catch and release is not working; the onus should not be on the courts to prove why someone should be held in custody for the crime they committed. The onus should be on the criminal perpetrator to prove why they should be released back into society because their actions have been that of an urban terrorist.

A tough-on-crime agenda, elimination of “catch and release,” a USA bonding system, and tough prison sentences would restore respect to our valuable Retail Employees and Retailers.

Mark Menean, Saultblog.com