After repeatedly being the target of theft and vandalism, and losing thousands of dollars in damages and goods, one Kelowna business owner is left frustrated.
Luar Body Piercing in Kelowna has been broken into four times in the past two years, and even after moving their business out of the downtown core is still enduring the same challenges.
In their first year of business on Bernard Ave. Luar Body Piercing faced their first break-in, which made them move locations out of caution. During the renovations of their new location on Ethel St. they encountered a second break in which almost put them out of business.
“They stole so much from us that we almost could not continue, we almost had to call it quits and close permanently,” said Searirra Oldford, owner of Luar.
Since then, a gofundme helped the body piercing shop get back on their feet; but it came at a hefty price as installing the latest surveillance cost the owner a pretty penny.
“We upped our security, and spent more money. We had security films installed in all the windows, a security system with cameras, glass break sensors, motion sensors; it was a pretty big deal,” said Oldford.
But that still hasn’t stopped thieves from getting in as Luar has experienced two more break ins, the most recent being last week, and Oldford has finally reached a breaking point.
“For a fourth time, it’s thousands of dollars we have to spend on replacing broken things and the damage done. It’s just getting very disheartening and very hard for a small business to continue,” said Oldford.
With the crime trend recurring, this business owner is more concerned about what is being done to prevent these instances from happening, and is calling on the city to do something about it.
“I think the biggest thing business owners want to see is some type of action plan, how are we going to start remedying the fact that the theft, and the vandalism, and the break and enter problem in Kelowna is so severe,” explained Oldford .
“There’s no support for us, there’s no okay what are we going to do? How are we going to help this? How can we fix this? How are we going to support our local businesses? It’s just non-existent and that’s tragic.”
Although relief may be closer than anticipated, as KelownaNow reached out to City Hall and they informed us that a plan to target crime is currently in the process.
“The City continues to significantly invest in community safety including police resources, bylaw services, contracted security and support for the DKA Downtown on Call Team,” said Marnie Douglas with the City of Kelowna.
“We are one of only a few BC municipalities developing a Community Safety Plan; a five-year action plan to reduce the number of people engaged in crime and experiencing victimization in our city. This will be completed late 2021.”
As for Luar Body Piercing, they plan to up their security once again and hope that change will come soon.
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