Regina tattoo shop targeted by thieves for the 3rd time this year

A Regina business owner says he’s once again picking up the pieces after thieves targeted his downtown tattoo shop early Tuesday morning.

“I was just on the tail of the police. They beat me here and I came to find this whole window broken out.”

It’s the third time in four months Fritz says thieves have smashed one of his windows, grabbing what they could before fleeing the scene.

Roman Corkery is a tattoo artist at the shop and says retail seems to be the main attraction.

“There’s not really a great reason to break into a tattoo shop, but as soon as we got clothing, that’s when it started happening,” Corkery said.

Between replacing the windows and restocking inventory, Fritz says the costs resulting from the break-ins are adding up.

“You always want to up your inventory after it’s been stolen and you’re kind of hesitant when you’re losing your profit on broken glass every time,” Fritz said.

“It’s quite frustrating.”

But it’s not the only place thieves zeroed in on that week. According to police, between Sept. 3 and 10, there were 44 break-ins in Regina, six to local businesses.

“The numbers are trending about stead with last year, but last year saw a bit of an increase from years previous, so it’s been a real point of pressure for us,” said Regina Police Service spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich.

While one area of the city doesn’t seem to be hit more than others, Fritz says he isn’t taking any more chances.

“We’re looking at getting some accordion-type bars that you close up at night and hopefully that keeps them out,” Fritz said.

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