More than half of B.C. businesses say they are impacted by rising crime

More than half of small businesses in B.C. say they have been directly impacted by crime over the past year.

A new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) found the share of small businesses reporting crime directly impacting them has jumped to 57 per cent in 2024.

That number is up 10 percentage points from the previous year.

The most common crimes cited by businesses include littering, loitering and theft.

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Almost half of small businesses say they have adjusted their way of operating because of crime, while two-thirds report investing in extra security measures such as cameras or window bars.

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“Despite the prevalence of these crimes and the fact that they are rising, small business owners often don’t end up reporting these crimes to the police and these crimes go under-reported because they’re not sure that anybody is going to assist them,” Emily Boston with the CFIB told Global News.

“About nine in 10 don’t feel they will receive assistance if they file a police report.”