Jeff Ross, a Vancouver Island business owner, has had one of his Gold Silver Guy stores broken into for the 19th time.
For 25 years, Mr. Ross has owned various retail outlets in Nanaimo, Qualicum, and Duncan that sell jewellery, coins, collectibles, and estate jewellery. He also owns a tool store, a candy store, and a dollar store.
Of all his businesses, it’s the stores selling precious metals that are being continually broken into, he told The Epoch Times on Aug. 8. “Society has changed,” said Mr. Ross.
“When I grew up, I was taught that if it wasn’t yours, don’t touch it. I also grew up right next to a jail. The inmates, as part of their sentence, had to go sweep the sidewalks, clean the leaves up in the fall, mow lawns, shovel snow,” said Mr. Ross. “They were forced to give back to the community. They were monitored. There was some measure of penalty.”
Now the criminals are blatant and some seem to want to go to jail, according to the business owner. On one occasion, a man came into Mr. Ross’s store and asked to look at a watch. He took one out and showed it to him. The man asked to see another. He said while he was getting out another watch, the customer put one into his pocket.
Thefts Up
Mr. Ross said thefts have increased, particularly in the last six years. The most recent break-in occurred at his Duncan location on July 27. Criminals smashed the glass window and stole roughly $2,500 worth of items in a display case.“It’s the land of opportunity. It’s fast turnaround,” he said. Breaking into a clothing store isn’t lucrative when it comes to selling the items, he explains. “We are a target, but so is a bank, so is a convenience store.”
Despite maintaining multiple levels of security, multiple locks on the door, film on the window to slow down would-be thieves, and cameras everywhere, Mr. Ross said the thieves hitting his stores are “determined to get in.”
He has cameras, a scissors gate, and other security precautions. He even has cement outside the doors so a vehicle cannot be used to ram the shop. Many of the thieves targeting his store have been homeless and were caught and went to jail. “But I understand if you’re in jail awaiting trial, you get credit for one and a half times your sentence,” he said. He doesn’t think the light sentences are a deterrent.
‘Determined’
In January, another theft took place at his Nanaimo store. Thieves entered an electrical panel outside of Mr. Ross’s domain. They drilled the door handle, broke down a wall in the electrical room, and broke down the side of the wall into Mr. Ross’s business. The thieves also moved a 600-pound cabinet.“It was a lot of work to get in. They were determined.” Despite sensors in each room, the alarm company wasn’t alerted, leaving the criminals all night to steal anything they could.
“We came in at 10 o'clock the next morning and saw the hole in the wall,” said Mr. Ross.
The stolen items totalled $62,000—his actual out-of-pocket cost—but did not include replacing broken glass, wood to board up the damage, film to put back on the window, or broken showcases.
He said the thieves have become “blatant,” even breaking into his store in daylight, on one occasion, a break-in took place at 6:30 a.m. One thief stole a showcase, three feet by two feet, that was sitting outside his store chained to a table. They cut the chain and walked away down the street with it.
Crime Wave
Other business owners in the community are also being hit hard, said Mr. Ross. One of his neighbours was firebombed three years ago and lost their business. Last month, a neighbouring business two doors down had all its windows smashed and broken. A store a block away from his Duncan location had all their windows broken and jewellery stolen just the week before the thieves attacked Mr. Ross’s store.On one previous break-in, Mr. Ross said the thief was recognizable. He broke the glass to steal from Mr. Ross’s store on a Friday, and went three doors down to hit another business, which was also caught on camera. Mr. Ross replaced his glass over that weekend.
“That same individual came back on Monday and did it again, broke all the glass.” Mr. Ross said the thief was caught by police. “All he got was a sweat lodge, I got nothing.”
Mr. Ross was referring to a “healing lodge,” typically a minimum security facility intended for indigenous people.
“The string of thefts have changed my retirement plan,” said the business owner.
Mr. Ross doesn’t blame the police. His son was an RCMP officer. He said the police are doing all they can. The revolving door justice system, the federal government’s catch-and-release policies, and the general state of society are the issue, he said.
The same police officer attended the last two break-ins at his stores. Mr. Ross said if the criminal doesn’t leave fingerprints, or the security camera doesn’t get good photos, the police cannot do anything.
“The police officer told me, ‘This is our work. We come. We report. We go on to the next one,’” said Mr. Ross.
