A Victorian company says it is fed up with crime rates in the area and is taking extra steps to improve security.

The 2:18 Run Nike Victoria store located in the Fairfield Village shopping center has installed bulletproof glass in its windows.

Owner Phil Nicolls, who has been at the location for a long time, said his windows have been broken several times in the past three or four years and thousands of dollars worth of merchandise has been stolen.

In January, he said someone broke in through the front door and stole some high-end Nike merchandise.

“From there, that’s when I started making the first inquiries about this product called Riot Glass, which is known in the US and in some of the larger city centers,” Nicolls told Global News.

In September, he said he was broken into again and more items were stolen.

That’s when he decided to install Riot Glass, which is built to resist ballistics, stopping bullets and preventing break-resistant entry.

“This is proactive for me, Riot Glass, and working with them,” Nicolls said.

“And yes, it’s very expensive, as I mentioned earlier, but it shows that I’m being proactive with my insurer that maybe you’re not going to raise my rates and still insure me because that’s a step that, yes, you should pull the building down or the whole building down (to) enter now.”

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Jario Yuris, director of British Columbia and Western Economic Policy at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, told Global News they are not surprised to hear these measures are being taken.

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“We’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of small businesses reporting crime across all categories,” he said.

“The most common types of crime our members have seen are littering and littering, loitering, breaking and entering, vandalism, theft and shoplifting. In fact, BC has the second highest theft rate in the country for thefts under $5,000. So we’re not surprised at how much small businesses are doing to deal with this.”

Yuris said businesses have adjusted their operations by going by appointment only and locking doors between services, leaving lights on at night and even spending more than $50,000 on security measures.

“Last year when we surveyed our membership about (burglary), we found that 61 per cent of small businesses in the province reported vandalism and burglary,” he said.

“This time, when we polled in 2024, that number had risen to 68%. So nearly seven out of 10 small businesses in BC have experienced some form of vandalism or break-in in the past year.”

Yuris said it took an emotional toll on small business owners, as many sought training on trauma-informed care and training on how to administer naloxone in the event of an overdose.

“These things should not worry them because the owners just want to provide the goods and services … that British Columbians rely on,” he said.

1:38
Study shows crime has a major impact on small businesses in BC

Last week, a CFIB report found that more than half of small businesses in BC say they have been directly affected by crime in the past year.

The report found that the share of small businesses reporting crimes that directly affect them increased to 57% in 2024.

This number is up 10 percentage points from the previous year.

Almost half of small businesses say they have adjusted how they operate because of crime, while two-thirds said they have invested in additional security measures such as cameras or window bars.

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