Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

BUSINESS IMPACT SURVEY

New survey shows theft, vandalism, other crimes becoming more expensive for Kamloops businesses

Nov 13, 2025 | 5:05 PM

KAMLOOPS — Businesses in Kamloops have repeatedly cited a noticeable rise in the amount of social disorder and street-level crimes they have to deal with. The annual impact survey put together by business improvement groups now shows a stark increase in how much money those problems are costing businesses.

Theft, vandalism and safety issues aren’t new to businesses in Kamloops, but many of those problems have gotten worse, according to the 2025 Business Impact Survey.

“Although we had about a 27 per cent drop in reports, we had a 26 per cent increase related to criminality and losses. That’s like shoplifting, vandalism and other direct impacts to business. It now is at $1.2 million for 130 businesses in Kamloops. It is substantial,” notes Kamloops North Shore BIA (NSBIA) Executive Director Jeremy Heighton.

The joint survey comes from the NSBIA, the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association (KCBIA), the East Kamloops Business Improvement Association (EKBIA), and Scwénwen Economic Development Corporation on the Tk’emlups Reserve.

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Clare Warner, the executive director for the EKBIA says Valleyview, Dallas and Campbell Creek area businesses have cited more safety concerns for their employees and customers.

“The convergence of so many different issues, like mental health, housing, affordability crisis — that’s what’s leading to all of these different issues that businesses are facing,” said Warner.

In the city’s downtown area, Stereo Warehouse and Sister’s Sleep Gallery is a longstanding example of a business repeatedly responding to crime and social problems nearby. The first thing owner Nina Sandhu does when she gets into work is call Community Service Officers to deal with people gathered around her family’s business. She says the business regularly contends with broken glass and other building damage, threats, open drug use on the property and more.

“How much business are we losing because people say, ‘Why do I need to put up with this? I’ll just go somewhere else,'” she tells CFJC.

Their frustration lies with what they feel is a lack of accountability for the harmful behaviour of people who hang around the area.

“We just spent another $4,000 on cameras for outside,” said Sandhu. “We had invested $6,000 last year — and that’s just in cameras, surveillance, putting in fences, doing more lighting out there. I honestly don’t know what else we can do.”

Out of the Impact survey, Heighton says business groups are calling on the province for a more hands-on street management system and a better integration of health care to cut down on social disorder and the frequency of street-level crimes.

“Right now, we have a large number of people entrenched on our beach fronts, in our forested areas and on our business corridors. We don’t have an integrated system to help them move into the best stream of care for themselves,” he says.

Heighton says the business organizations’ recent letter to the premier’s office did receive an acknowledgement response this week, buy they’ll have to keep pushing for tangible results.

“Our hope is that UBCM, the municipality response agencies will all take up the call and say we deserve better and that the province will listen,” reiterates Heighton.