Vancouver crime: Store keeps stock locked up as forum held on public safety
CTV
It's not easy to access items at the Home Hardware store on Davie Street. Almost everything in the store is kept locked in some way.
It’s not easy to access items at the Home Hardware store on Davie Street. Almost everything in the store is kept locked in some way.
Late last summer, the store installed cages along some of the aisles in an effort to curb the high rate of shoplifting. Items like batteries, measuring tapes, spray paint cans and hammers are behind bars; the only way to get to them is if staff open the padlocks.
Staff member Mikhail Hudon said the changes help, but haven’t solved the shoplifting issue. He estimates around $30,000 worth of stock has been stolen in recent months.
“It’s sad that they have to be here, but it’s nice that it does help a little bit,” Hudon said. “We try to slow down or prevent (shoplifting) before it happens and try and catch anybody in the shop before they leave with the item.”
In December and January, the store hired private security. In the first week, Hudon said, someone grabbed a Soda Stream box and ran out of the store. The security guard chased him, but the man was armed with bear spray.
A sign at the front of the store asks people with large bags to leave them at the counter, a strategy to prevent unpaid items ending up inside. Almost all the shelves have locks to keep hanging items secured and all the kitchen pans are zip-tied.
“People would just grab ‘em, slide ‘em into a bag and just walk out the door,” Hudon said.
