CALGARY -- Last February it was the catalytic converters in two of the delivery trucks. In July, the thieves smashed out the front window and stole a small cash box. Both neighbouring businesses, a liquor store and a phone outlet, have also been hit in recent months.
Eric D’Kruss is fed up with the crime around his Country Hills sleep clinic.
“It’s been in excess of $30,000 just to keep our employees safe and our customers safe which is a shame," said D'Kruss, in an interview with CTV News. "It shouldn’t be like that.”
Last Tuesday morning staff watched as a small group of men piled boxes of booze in the back of a cab and sped off. Two days later some of the same men pulled up in a different cab with empty boxes.
“I’m like - this is it! They’re here again!” said Monique Hindes, a receptionist at Dream Sleep Respiratory. She said they had two boxes of whiskey and three cases of beer.
“They were trying to put in the back of the cab again," she said. "We were trying to stop the cab the second time and get the keys. The cab driver kinda just peeled out of the parking lot and we called the cops again.”
Calgary Police said they will work with businesses to help reduce their chances of being targets.
“I think the whole system, including the police are hamstrung by the laws we have in place. These are laws that have been made quite a time ago and unfortunately they’re just not working in today’s environment,” said D’Kruss.
Last year Edmonton Police reported liquor thefts in particular had spiked, going from about 3,300 cases in 2018 to nearly 9,600 in 2019.
The province has offered a $250, 000 incentive to anyone who can design a system to significantly reduce the problem.
