The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a roundtable discussion with Thunder Bay Police Chief Darcy Fleury and local business operators to discuss the challenges of crime in the local retail sector.
Fleury said police are aware of the many challenges local businesses are facing and appreciates being able to hear first-hand about their concerns and possible solutions.
“We know the concerns vary, but mainly include neighbourhood safety, theft and vandalism,” he said. “We also know that there are many social issues prevalent in Thunder Bay — particularly around homelessness, mental health and addictions — which are having an adverse effect on businesses throughout the entire city.”
Fleury was accompanied by deputy chief Ryan Hughes and acting community outreach inspector Jason Rybak. They informed participants about a range of topics, including the availability and deployment of policing resources, the prioritization of 911 calls, how police respond to mental health-related calls for service, and possible initiatives to reduce robbery and theft incidents.
Chamber president Charla Robinson called the discussion an “ important opportunity” to come together, share concerns and collaborate on effective solutions to protect businesses, employees and customers.
“Certainly, theft is a growing problem and some business owners are saying this is a daily thing where someone is robbing them,” said Robinson. “That is eating into the profitability of their business and their staff don’t feel safe.”
She says it was important to express some of those concerns and get a better understanding of what’s happening in the business community and what the police are working on for some longer-term strategies.
About 50 business people from across the city attended the conversation that took place at the Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel last week.
“They all shared similar stories and there appears to be some areas that have a little bit more population of regular offenders,” she said, adding that across every business district within the city, the stories were consistent around what they’re seeing. “Offenders come in (to the store) and fill a backpack and walk out with the attitude that they don’t care that they’re being seen doing this. It’s like daring, ‘what are you going to do to me?’ We heard from multiple folks that there is no fear or respect.”
One of the things the police chief was very clear about was that business operators should not put themselves in danger, and are better off not confronting someone.
“We talked about other ways to, (deter crime) like, don’t let them in if you know someone is a regular (offender) in the neighbourhood, and you can refuse them entry to your business,” Robinson said.
“Everybody that spoke acknowledged that they know that the police have a lot on their plates right now and that they just don’t have the resources to deal with every time someone comes in and steals something from their store. Some of the stories were about some really difficult things happening in our city right now, but what inspired me was the tenacity of these entrepreneurs,” she said. “The big takeaway for me was their attitude or community spirit of: ‘this is our problem, and we all need to be part of the solution.’”
She added how amazing these entrepreneurs are, who are facing such difficult situations and continue to be passionate and inspired about growing their businesses and serving their community.
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