A small business owner in Victoria, BC has taken it upon himself to deter criminals after being the victim of numerous break-ins.Phil Nicolls, who operates 2:18 Run, recently placed the front windows of his shop with bullet proof glass.According to Global News, Nicolls has run the store in the Fairfield Village Shopping Centre for some time, but noticed crime skyrocket in recent years. He made the move after having thousands of dollars of of his running gear merchandise stolen.In an interview with the outlet, Nicolls explained that in January, a thief broke through the front door and made off with expensive Nike goods, and just months later a similar incident occurred. While he began looking into an American product called Riot Glass after the former break-in, it was after the latter that he decided to install it."Yes, it is very expensive," he said, "but it does show I'm being proactive to my insurer that maybe you won't jack my rates and you still will insure me." He noted that with the glass in place, a thief "would have to pull the building down basically.".Report reveals over half of BC small businesses 'directly impacted by crime'.Nicolls' experience is not uncommon in BC. According to a report compiled by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, over half of small businesses in the province have been "directly impacted" by crime.Of the 1,666 small business owners surveyed across the country, 57% of those in BC said yes when asked if they had "recently been impacted by community safety issues." Last year, it was just 30%, making BC the province with the highest year-over-year jump.Data showed that while the crime rate in BC fell by 4% between 2021 and 2023 to 7,986 per 100,000 people, the crime severity index rose by 8% to 104.11, the third highest in the country. This disparity highlighted that while crime has decreased overall, the offences that are committed have become more serious.
A small business owner in Victoria, BC has taken it upon himself to deter criminals after being the victim of numerous break-ins.Phil Nicolls, who operates 2:18 Run, recently placed the front windows of his shop with bullet proof glass.According to Global News, Nicolls has run the store in the Fairfield Village Shopping Centre for some time, but noticed crime skyrocket in recent years. He made the move after having thousands of dollars of of his running gear merchandise stolen.In an interview with the outlet, Nicolls explained that in January, a thief broke through the front door and made off with expensive Nike goods, and just months later a similar incident occurred. While he began looking into an American product called Riot Glass after the former break-in, it was after the latter that he decided to install it."Yes, it is very expensive," he said, "but it does show I'm being proactive to my insurer that maybe you won't jack my rates and you still will insure me." He noted that with the glass in place, a thief "would have to pull the building down basically.".Report reveals over half of BC small businesses 'directly impacted by crime'.Nicolls' experience is not uncommon in BC. According to a report compiled by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, over half of small businesses in the province have been "directly impacted" by crime.Of the 1,666 small business owners surveyed across the country, 57% of those in BC said yes when asked if they had "recently been impacted by community safety issues." Last year, it was just 30%, making BC the province with the highest year-over-year jump.Data showed that while the crime rate in BC fell by 4% between 2021 and 2023 to 7,986 per 100,000 people, the crime severity index rose by 8% to 104.11, the third highest in the country. This disparity highlighted that while crime has decreased overall, the offences that are committed have become more serious.
