Crime in Calgary...

A large concern for people and businesses alike.

I’ve got a new pair of shoes, thanks to a few new Paid Subscribers of YakkStack and existing paid subs, that I’m already putting to work.

Hitting the Campaign Trail!

Spent yesterday meeting with businesses in Ward 4 and today, knocking on doors inside of my community.

It’s been a while since I’ve blazed a trail with either B2B or with door-knocking and if there is one thing I can say about this…

I LOVE IT.

Can’t believe how much I’ve actually missed this.

I started door-knocking as a child…selling raffle tickets for the school to raise money for the school, collecting bottles for the cub scouts, shoveling walks in the neighborhood to fund my arcade habit, raising funds for charity…

Business to business sales, always required some degree of cold calling…was never much of an issue for me.

Meet people, treat them with respect…have a conversation and make a new friend.

LOVE IT!

But over this couple of days, out meeting people, there has been a fairly common theme in my immediate neighborhood and with my new friends…safety and security!

All of the businesses and some members of the community had a story…some, several stories.

Over this last 5 years, those who mentioned this, had noted that crime was on the rise. A fairly predominant theme, mentioning homeless or drug addicts…shop lifting, break ins, scaring away general business throughout their hours of operation, where one of the business owners said that he and his brother spent 3 weeks camped out in the parking lot to watch for a repeated offender try to break into his shop.

First it was lock picking…

Then escalated to trying to pry the doors open…

From here, went to tethering a chain around the door handles and a tow ball on his vehicle in an attempt to force the doors open.

When this repeat attempt was finally successful, tills were stolen from the store to grab whatever float cash was in them.

He’d finally had to move towards roll shutters to keep his business safe.

He wasn’t the only one in this complex with them.

Cameras, Roll Shutters, Alarm Systems, Magnetic Locks all employed by the small businesses, of course at their own costs.

Shockingly, one of the small business owners told me how the Fire Department disallowed the use of her device because “it locked customers in the store”, when all it was meant to do is lock undesirable people out. Theft has returned to her store so that she can be in compliance.

Another lady, who can no longer pay staff due to the increases in expenses with a decrease in business works alone and has to manually lock her doors when she sees shifty looking people loitering outside of her business. She’s had theft from her window display, costs that she simply cannot afford. “I work 7 days per week. I open my store, work throughout the day, close my store, go home, eat, sleep and do the same thing the next day and everyday”, she explained to me.

Alone.

Just to keep her doors open and business afloat.

At the local liquor store, the ,manager explained what she deals with on a daily or multiple time per week basis.

In fact…she was waiting for the police to arrive when I’d stopped by in the early afternoon. Her store was robbed around 10:30 am and by 1:30 - the Calgary Police still had not arrived.

She explained that sometimes, they don’t even come.

“I don’t blame the police”, M told me. “I understand that they have to prioritize their visits and sometimes, our complaints (of theft) are minor”.

A fist full of years ago, New Years Eve…my youngest son, home from Shilo Manitoba - serving with the Canadian Forces, had stopped by this vendor. While he was there, there was an Armed Robbery - gun involved, where all he could do was to try and calm people down and make sure that this never escalated.

There has been at least one shooting in our neighborhood since, in an Armed Robbery.

And while all of these businesses have this as a concern…they have seemingly become accustomed through their frustration of not having this attended to…that they do what they can to “get by”.

Which, unsurprisingly enough…the doors I knocked on in the community, where at least 1/3 of the residence have doorbell cameras and/or notes on their doors to leave delivery packages at the back of their homes, or in a special place, out of sight from the street - have been normalized to Not Feeling Safe and accept it.

“I’ve only had one catalytic converter stolen”, mentioned Steve…”but there was one guy running through my backyard who’d just robbed a garage a couple of doors down”.

But crime isn’t too bad.

“I do wonder where my Property Tax Money is going”…

Steve has lived in the community for 25 years and seen his property tax bill shoot up from $600/Month to just over $4000…

“They don’t clean our streets, except for once per year. There is always ice during the winter and sometimes the removal truck drive past, but never clean any. We used to have our garbage included at the $600/year, but now find this hidden in other bills”.

Think about this…

He’s been normalized to crime. Sees no value in the increase in taxes. Had his water turned off or restricted for the entire summer of 2024…and has never met his current city councilor, despite living in the same home for 6 Municipal Elections.

I actually find this a lot offensive.

Canadians and Calgarians are amazing people.

I’ve spent 3 decades in this same community with a lot of these people who’ve moved in or have lived here for as long, if not longer…

And instead of being listened to…

Instead of appropriate actions being taken…

They see increases in their costs of living that offer no value, all while they see have to fade their own personal safety into this being acceptable and a part of life.

It’s gross.

And I’m glad to have met all of the people I have over the last 2 days to realize this…and can’t wait to meet a lot more amazing people to see what concerns they have, living in Calgary.

A lot of what we see with this rise in crime is due to the LRT station in close proximity. It being used as a quick get-away vehicle for transients, shelter for homeless and drug addicts.

And can’t help to think of the nonsensical battle in City Council over the Green Line boondoggle…where instead of addressing the crime that this delivers to neighborhoods, they’re virtue signaling about adding more of this, at unreasonable expenses…pointing the finger at the province for shortfalls.

A large part of my platform focuses on putting families first…but this absolutely needs to start with having safe streets, where people aren’t accustomed to living in a crime ridden neighborhood.