Got something in self storage? What you need to know amid rising thefts
CBC
Artist Tina So moved from Hong Kong to Vancouver two years ago and needed a storage locker for some paintings and family heirlooms.
She signed up with Sentinel Storage in Richmond, B.C., comforted by the promise of a state-of-the-art security system.
That confidence was shaken when So opened her storage unit in August.
"I couldn't believe my eyes," she told Go Public. "I double-checked the door. I thought I entered some other person's locker."
Her major artwork from the past ten years, other paintings she had collected, family tableware and other heirlooms — all were gone.
"The first thing I did was run to the lobby and tell them that something's gone wrong!"
It was the beginning of a mystery So says should not be hard to solve, given that Sentinel Storage advertises that it is a gated property with round-the-clock security, video surveillance and individually coded access to doors and gates.
"You give everything that is valuable to them and there is no guarantee that they will keep it well," said So.
Thousands of people across the country have put their personal belongings in public storage, creating a $9-billion industry in Canada according to a January report by research company IBISWorld.
At the same time, the pandemic has led to business closures and job losses, driving an increase in theft from self-storage facilities, says security expert Alex Vourkoutiotis, chief technology officer at Caliber Communications in Hamilton, a company that provides various types of corporate security.
"Mass layoffs cause theft increase. It's an unfortunate byproduct, but it's a reality," Vourkoutiotis said.
There are no national statistics, but Vourkoutiotis says he and colleagues in the industry have noticed a definite spike in storage crime.
Theft attempts at facilities his company monitors have almost tripled — from 135 in 2020 to 348 in the first ten months of 2021.
A spokesperson for Sentinel Storage said no one was available for an interview to discuss So's case, but sent a statement, saying the company was "sincerely sorry about the loss," that security is "fundamental" to its service and that it works closely with law enforcement when theft has occurred.