Frustration evident for construction industry facing thefts, vandalism

“It was only to see this same individual the very next day, driving by my place of employment and taunting me on his bicycle as he was driving by and smiling at me,” he said.

Kulczycki was one of several panelists at a Chamber-led event yesterday that hoped to help businesses protect their property from theft, particularly those in the construction industry.

Following a poll of businesses that showed a bigger issue for construction and commercial industries, the Chamber hosted the event to as a way to help.

The thefts are also spread to other industries, such as the automotive dealers in town.

Steve Jeffers of Carlton Honda, said in one case they had a vehicle stolen from their lot and a salesperson later saw it getting gas at the same station he was at.

Police could not get there fast enough, and the thief drove away with the car. They were later caught stealing gas at another location.

Kulczycki said the crime issue has been a steadily increasing one.

“This isn’t something that’s just happened, this is something that’s been escalating for the last several years,” he said.

He tried to convince the assembled group to join forces to push higher levels of government for more action.

“We need to start as a group reaching out to the justice department to try to find out, why are these people back out on the streets, why are they re-offending and what consequences are they actually facing?” said Kulczycki.

Members of the Prince Albert Police Service, the RCMP and local security companies were on hand to give some perspective from law enforcement.

Ultimately, said Inspector Brent MacDonald, the justice system does not jail offenders for theft unless there are a series of problems for one person.

“It’s very unlikely property crime offenders are going to be held in custody, that’s just a fact,” he said.

MacDonald said that two types of criminal steal items like tools. One is often an addict that sees an opportunity and takes it in order to supply their addiction.

The other type tends to be more organized and is done by gangs or their associates.

Police statistics do not show drastic increases in thefts, however.

“It’s remained fairly consistent over the past five years,” MacDonald said.

One reason could be that businesses are not reporting smaller thefts, even to their insurance companies.

A Chamber poll showed that businesses have not claimed any insurance coverage for many thefts, including some that have had three or more thefts.

“Crime is very clearly a challenge for businesses in Prince Albert. More than eight out of 10 businesses report being a victim of crime in the last 15 months, and many of them multiple times,” said Mark Cooper, CEO of the Saskatchewan Construction Association.

Cooper said that maybe poverty and crime should be treated like a pandemic, with governments throwing multiple resources at the issue.

The issue of theft and crime is not isolated to Prince Albert, however, and larger centres such as Saskatoon and Regina are seeing the same problems although this city may be experience larger numbers.

“Crime is a challenge and not just in Prince Albert, but it definitely is an acute problem here, perhaps significantly more than other areas,” Cooper said.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Susan McNeil

Frustration evident for construction industry facing thefts, vandalism

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