A CRIME SHAME
Businesses near the notorious Whalley strip lost an average of nearly $100,000 to break-ins and theft last year, and some have given up the fight
Mohamed Bhamjee grew up in Whalley and has seen the neighbourhood deteriorate over the years, plagued by homelessness and drug addiction issues.
His parents’ grocery store on King George Boulevard, a neighbourhood fixture since 1980, abuts the notorious Whalley strip, a two-block stretch of 135A Street between 106 and 108 Avenues. The location has taken its toll.
“We’ve had broken windows. We have an alarm system, so that’s not too bad, but there’s been vandalism and theft from within the store,” said Bhamjee. “People come in and try to steal. Sometimes they get caught, sometimes not.”
When Bhamjee used to work at the store, he called police. Nowadays, more often than not, his dad Yusef Bhamjee, who still works behind the counter, doesn’t call the cops anymore. “When you don’t see change over 30 years you stop banging your head against the wall,” he said. The Bhamjee family is not alone. The latest annual safety audit conducted by the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association, previously known as the Whalley BIA, found that drug-related issues, such as discarded needles, drug dealing, and drug use as well as retail theft were the top problems facing local businesses.
The survey, which interviewed 240 businesses, found that close to 34 per cent of ground-level businesses were victims of retail theft.
The average value of goods lost for business owners was close to $100,000, said CEO Elizabeth Model.
“That doesn’t seem like much but these are small businesses trying to succeed.”
The survey also found that almost 37 per cent of ground-floor businesses experienced an assault in the last 12 months, while about 30 per cent of upper-floor businesses had the same experience.
About 27 per cent of ground-level businesses say they’ve had a breakin in the last year — slightly more than the 25 per cent of upper-level businesses that reported similar incidents.
Model said she’s known of six or seven businesses on King George Boulevard, near 135A Street, that have shut down in the past year. “They just can’t operate under current conditions,” she said. Aside from crime, things like publicly-discarded needles or homeless people sleeping outside shops also scares away customers.
Model, who has served on the BIA for nine years, sympathizes with the people who live on the street and struggle with mental-health and drug-addiction issues.
“This isn’t how people should live,” she said, especially in a wealthy country like Canada — but noted the social and health problems are having a detrimental effect on businesses struggling to survive and thrive.
“That’s their livelihood,” she said, referring to business owners. “They’re trying to make a living, doing the right thing and employing people and paying taxes as part of the economic generator.”
Christine Okarah, who owns a nearby African-Caribbean cosmetics store and market, also says theft is a repeat problem her three-yearold business had to face.
One time, a thief stole Okarah’s wallet right out of purse behind the counter. “I had money in there because I had just come back from a trip and there was cash to pay for deliveries,” she said. “That one really hurt.”
Things have improved since a gate was installed at the back of the strip mall, which backs onto 135A Street, she said. “Before you come in, you see needles everywhere. You see them lying outside. Now it seems to be changing, and we hope it continues to change.”
Bhamjee said it’s unfortunate that the reputation of Whalley gets tarred by the notoriety of The Strip. He went to elementary school around the corner, and has since moved away from the neighbourhood. At night, he hesitates to bring his kids to the area.
This year, the City of Surrey worked with the Downtown Surrey BIA to expand the survey across Surrey and at least three other business improvement associations.
The city will compile the results and release them at a later date, which has not yet been set, said Model.