BUSINESSES TO FORM ALLIANCE TO COMBAT CRIME SPREE

It could be the recent provincial cuts to welfare. It could be just a crime
wave. It could be the effect of a massive local drug problem, but whatever
is causing the recent jump in petty crimes has business owners frustrated
with police as much as the criminals.

Local business owners are looking for solutions to a jump in the
shoplifting incidents over the last six months; with most having
petty-theft horror stories to tell.

Along with two recent robberies in the downtown core, two local business
owners have also been physically assaulted and threatened by customers
looking for a free handout. Whether it's a handful of stolen bananas or a
pot roast many are taking to the streets to chase down thieves singlehandedly.

But it is a small group of young adults and not young offenders, who seem
to be the ones staking out businesses and noting which employees are easy
marks.

"And they are good," says one business owner, who discovered that one
shoplifter managed to remove three pieces of artwork right off the walls of
their business. Other business owners have lost display curtains right in
front of them, and had shoplifters they were watching leave packages in the
exact spot where staff were standing in an apparent act of power and
defiance. Another business owner says one woman even had the effrontery to
go for a beer while holding a stolen dress in her arms still on its hanger.
Allegedly by the time police managed to arrive to meet up with the
storeowner, the woman had finished her beer and left the pub by the back
door. "It's Crystal Meth=85 Most of it all boils down to Crystal Meth,"
believes one business owner, who is taking a tough stand on anyone she
suspects is a shoplifter.

"I am straight up with all the kids and they don't rip me off=85 I respect
them for not disrespecting me, but busting these people is all that is
going to help... I know they are running drug programs, but these people
don't want programs; they don't want help; they are too messed up."

That viewpoint is shared by numerous business people, with one noting the
newest nickname for the block of Wallace Street between Fourth and Fifth
Avenue is the new "Vancouver Eastside." From their vantage point numerous
money lending operations, and drug deals can be watched hour after hour,
adding to the vagrants sleeping on the street and urinating under store
awnings.

But business owners are starting to band together to share information on
the latest scams, to back each other up when they become suspicious of a
customer, as well as identify those who have been caught shoplifting, and
those they do not allow in their stores.

It's move police, unable to post an officer at every corner or in every
store, applaud. Staff Sergeant Jim Delnea is also hoping that through
contacting the Chamber of Commerce, and in coordination with organizations
like the Hope Crime Prevention Society, the Hope CrimeStoppers and the
RCMP, seminars can be held to teach business owners how to design their
business to minimize theft; how to cut back theft by offering excellent
customer service, and to give business owners and their staff a chance to
network with fellow business people.

"If enough businesses do not allow a `known' shoplifter into their stores,
then this town is going to be a pretty boring place for them to live,"
believes one shop owner.

And RCMP statistics on theft cases also back up the community's perception
that the problem is growing. In 2001, there were 127 break-ins in the Hope
community. In 2002, Delnea reports that that number has jumped to 144. In
the cases of petty theft, including shoplifting, 241 cases reported to
police in 2002, up from 176 the previous year.

The key to us making a case, says Delnea, is that police need the evidence
to identify first the suspect and then the stolen property =AD evidence
that is strong enough that the "court will not be left with any reasonable
doubt" of a person's guilt.

To ensure a likelihood of conviction for Crown Counsel, says Delnea,
witnesses must have observed an item being "clearly" concealed by a
suspect, in order to prove the wilful intention to steal.

But, reminds Delnea, if it is an issue of being "challenged by an accused
in your story=85 Give them the money. Your safety is more important. Let's
be smarter before anything happens. Let's set up our businesses and our
homes to minimize opportunities."

"And the law is never black and white," adds Delnea, "especially with the
new youth criminal justice act " where judges will be more likely to defer
charges."

Soon, says Delnea, most petty thefts will be handled under the new
restorative justice program, where alternative measures for petty crimes
are dictated by a community board. Community justice, in the form of
restitution to the victim, community work service, and letters of apology,
are worked out between victim and suspect.

What needs to be faced is that "the days of leaving property unattended are
gone. There are people who will take advantage of the weak and trusting,
and those who do not take care of their property."

So would your staff know some of the most recent scams? One business owner
lost an entire line of stone figurines after a woman kept their staff
member busy helping her shop for other items throughout the store. The
woman never seems to have brought her cash card and asks to put her basket
behind the counter, leaving with loads of your stock and a legitimate
reason to return to purchase one item at a time =AD and steal a little
more. Or how about the young woman who shops for clothes while her
boyfriend stuffs his pockets full. One business owner says watch out for
baby buggies with the cloth hoods; a mom likes to load up. And then there
is the woman who sneaks items out of stores under the clothes of a
3-year-old child. Or the woman who walks around with apparently a full
shopping bag, but dumps whatever is inside and fills it with stock from
your store.

Have you checked under the benches in your change rooms? One shoplifter
likes to tape hangers under the seats, so your staff doesn't realize she is
walking out with a load of your clothes underneath hers.

And finally would your staff be suspicious of a man in his 30s hanging
around a shelf filled with kid's collectibles? Would you even suspect that
he was stealing boxes of toys to sell to kids for his own drug money?

Next week, Staff Sergeant Delnea, adds a few more tips for business owners,
in Part two of this story.