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(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)

Businesses are losing thousands of dollars to crime in Kamloops and it's helping brew frustration toward law enforcement.

That's according to survey responses from 201 local businesses across the city. Ninety-nine of them reported nearly $937,000 in losses in one year, most downtown or in North Kamloops. The survey was conducted for the North Shore Business Association, the Downtown Kamloops Business Improvement Association and the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce. 

"Our local businesses are the backbone of the Kamloops economy, and they need real solutions to the crime and social disruption that threaten their livelihoods,” executive director of the North Shore business association Jeremy Heighton said in a news release.

The financial losses due to crime, often theft or vandalism, were up 20% over last year's survey. But in addition to their losses, 71% of the 201 respondents said they spent a combined $946,360 on new security measures.

“This report clearly shows that immediate action is needed to protect not only the business community but also the safety and well-being of all Kamloops residents," Heighton said.

READ MORE: RCMP cleared in 2022 Kamloops deadly shooting after violent abduction

More than half say crime and social issues have gotten worse over the past year, along with more safety risks for staff and complaints from customers. More than half had called RCMP within the past year, but just as many said they had also experienced crime and didn't report it. 

"We in the community have to help (RCMP) quantify the issue by reporting," Heighton said.

When asked about RCMP response over the past year the responses varied. Some praised their efforts, but others said they felt police were doing what they could and blamed other factors like the courts, while some said they felt abandoned by police.

"Business owners continue to seek support from response agencies to address crime and social disruptions. However, many believe that current response services do not meet community needs," the survey report read.

The most common concern was doubt over whether anyone will be charged, followed by a lack of issue resolution and slow response times.

"What we see in the comments is business is exhausted. What we see in the comments is business is angry," Heighton told iNFOnews.ca.

As for bylaw officers, some were pleased with their ability to work with people on the streets. Others doubted their effectiveness as they lack the same authority as police, with two saying people on the streets laugh at the officers.

READ MORE: Kamloops city council may pull 'public inquiries' from meetings as disruptions continue

This year, Kamloops was named the crime capital of Canada by Statistics Canada when compared to cities over 100,000 people. It's a title refuted by City officials, including Kamloops RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley.

He presented the 2024 second quarter crime statistics to a Kamloops council committee on Sept. 26, which showed police-reported business and property crime trending slightly downward. Asked about the disparity between the monetary losses to businesses in the last year and police-reported crime, he expressed some skepticism over the math.

"It's very preliminary to see what those costs are and how they're defined. I would really like to know what the source of that is," he said. "I mean, there's a difference between crime and social issues."

He did say police will be more progressive with enforcement, prevention and intervention strategies, but he wouldn't comment specifically on the downward crime stats and the survey that suggests the impact on businesses is worsening.

"I'm not completely clear what that impact is. Is that property damage to the businesses, is that property stolen, is that cleanup?" he said.

Heighton said the roughly $1 million in related to criminal losses was mostly vandalism and theft.

The 2024 survey can be found here.

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