Vancouver crime: Store keeps stock locked up as forum held on public safety

It’s not easy to access items at the Home Hardware store on Davie Street. Almost everything in the store is kept locked in some way.

Late last summer, the store installed cages along some of the aisles in an effort to curb the high rate of shoplifting. Items like batteries, measuring tapes, spray paint cans and hammers are behind bars; the only way to get to them is if staff open the padlocks.

Staff member Mikhail Hudon said the changes help, but haven’t solved the shoplifting issue. He estimates around $30,000 worth of stock has been stolen in recent months.

“It’s sad that they have to be here, but it’s nice that it does help a little bit,” Hudon said. “We try to slow down or prevent (shoplifting) before it happens and try and catch anybody in the shop before they leave with the item.”

In December and January, the store hired private security. In the first week, Hudon said, someone grabbed a Soda Stream box and ran out of the store. The security guard chased him, but the man was armed with bear spray.

A sign at the front of the store asks people with large bags to leave them at the counter, a strategy to prevent unpaid items ending up inside. Almost all the shelves have locks to keep hanging items secured and all the kitchen pans are zip-tied.

“People would just grab ‘em, slide ‘em into a bag and just walk out the door,” Hudon said.

The store is one of dozens of businesses just on Davie Street dealing with thefts, break-ins and broken windows.

Issues such as these, compounded with general street disorder and a rise in random stranger attacks, prompted three Vancouver city councillors to host a virtual public safety forum on Thursday titled “Speaking of Vancouver.”

It was put together by Councillors Sarah Kirby-Yung, Lisa Dominato and Rebecca Bligh, and included a panel with Vancouver Police Department Deputy Chief Howard Chow, harm reduction advocate Guy Felicella and the Downtown Business Improvement Association’s new CEO Nolan Marshall III.

The forum began with a poll of residents who were dialled in. Almost 75 per cent said they currently fear for their personal safety in Vancouver.

Much of the discussion centered around the need for more secure housing and support services. Chow spoke about the prevalence of police calls relating to individuals with mental health issues exhibiting dangerous behaviour on the streets, revealing that VPD officers make an average of 3,000 arrests per year under the Mental Health Act, or about eight per day. Of these, about 60 to 70 per cent do not end up being certified at hospital.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart was not part of the forum. CTV News reached out to his office for comment but did not hear back.