As crime continues to cause chaos for storeowners across the Maritimes, a trio of Saint John businesses have decided to take matters into their own hands. Three east side businesses in close proximity of each other – The Power Store, Loch Lomond Mitsubishi and the Loch Lomond Home Hardware Building Centre – have jointly created the Saint John Security Coalition. “A couple of weeks ago Mitsubishi had lost a truck, which they did get back,” says Power Store sales manager Matt Francis. “The latest big one for us, they got three ATVs. The poor folks at Home Hardware, they’re hit with attempts and robbery repeatedly, so I guess desperation is a great innovator.” The coalition has hired a pair of security guards who will patrol the three properties each night. The Power Store and Home Hardware are directly beside one another, while the dealership is a few hundred metres down Loch Lomond Road. The guards will patrol the property with a truck that is currently being outfitted with custom decals and spotlights. They will be taking notes throughout the night to help track what they see. Loch Lomond Mitsubishi general manager Fred Chamberlain says on top of the recently stolen truck, vandals have also been stealing gas and converters from the parking lot. “It can get to be pretty expensive,” Chamberlain says. “People come in stealing converters, it’s a part that could be $500, it could be $1,000. “The issue is the way they’re taking them off there just cutting everything and anything. So, we’re now dealing with the fact that a converter that should cost us maybe $1,500 or $2,000 to replace is now costing us $5,000 replace because we’re replacing wires and everything else that gets damaged during the process.” While the security personnel will be there in case any crimes occur, Chamberlain highlights the ultimate goal of the coalition is to deter crime from every happening. “The more this gets out, the better it is for us,” he says, adding the cost of paying a few security guards is much better than paying to replace another converter. “We’re not trying to hide it. We want everybody to know we’ve got security here 24 hours a day, essentially. So, if you’re going to press your luck, chances are there’s going to be somebody that sees you.” “It’s a purely a deterrent,” says Francis. “Cameras are good, but cameras are a recording device. Cameras as a deterrent, now that time is long gone.” Francis says he has heard from other businesses and residents praising them for taking matters into their own hands when it comes to crime concerns. Francis says the coalition will remain focused on the three properties, but he hopes other areas on the east side will see the model and do similar things for themselves. While the side-by-sides, ATVs and other vehicles on the property are all high value, Francis says the most difficult part when a theft occurs is knowing it happened. “Rips your heart out when you come in on a Monday morning, and everything that you’ve built has been compromised as far as your own integrity and your security,” says Francis. “That doesn’t have a dollar sign against it, that there is absolutely demoralizing. I really respect the three business owners that kind of took us on the shoulders and made this real.” Retail Council of Canada Atlantic director Jim Cormier says the thefts the businesses are dealing with is more than likely the result of organized retail crime. In these situations, criminals steal the items and are quickly able to resell them through online marketplaces in a matter of hours. He says the creation of the security collation by the east side businesses is a “sign of the reality in today’s retail world.” “The money that’s raised by these organized criminal gangs by selling these products is being used for prostitution, drugs, you name it. It’s all illicit activity,” Cormier says. “It proves our point that we’ve been making for the last five or six years that this is not the kid stealing a chocolate bar. These are organized criminals that that are working provinces for days, weeks on end before moving off somewhere else.” Cormier advises anyone who hires security guards for their business not from a company to speak with police to have a better idea of what can and can’t be done to criminals if they are caught stealing. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
