Whitehorse shop owners say they're fed up with property crime
CBC
Some Whitehorse shop owners say they're fed up with break-ins, property damage and theft, which they believe has been on the rise in the last few years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wines by Design sells wine kits. Two people were caught on security camera breaking into the store in the early morning of Nov. 25, shattering the front door to gain entry, and stealing the cash box, some speakers and various other items. Owner Shelly Maximnuk says the thieves are lucky she wasn't waiting for them with a baseball bat.
"I would not blame anybody for harming somebody if they broke into their business or their home, because they're just protecting what's theirs," Maximnuk said.
Maximnuk believes people committing the crimes are lazy and don't want to work. She thinks Canada needs stiffer penalties to deter them.
"These guys aren't getting caught and they know that even if they get caught, they'll be out because they don't do any time."
Another business owner in the city, Donna Reimchen, has owned the North End Gallery, a glass-walled art gallery and shop right downtown, for 13 years.
"In the last two to three years, the vandalism and break-in incidents are happening more frequently and they're more severe," she said.
Two years ago, someone broke one of the windows to enter and stole from the cash register. Reimchen couldn't get the glass shards out of the carpet, so it became an expensive claim, where the insurance paid to install laminate flooring.
Reimchen said this raised her insurance premium to the extent she no longer files. So on Nov. 22, when someone broke another window to enter the gallery, she paid out of pocket to replace the window.
"Unfortunately, now we're looking at getting security bars in the windows, which is not something aesthetically that we're happy about doing, but we can't afford these costs anymore," she said.
Reimchen is disheartened. She says the gallery supports about 150 Yukon artists.
"I like to think we're here trying to do good things," she said.
Both Reimchen and Maximnuk believes it's only a handful of people behind most of the recent incidents.
"There is no consequence from the justice system," Reimchen said.
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