The owner of Alberta Barber Academy, north of downtown Edmonton in the Central McDougall neighbourhood, said she is at her breaking point after dozens of break-ins, attempted break-ins and cases of vandalism over the past eight years.
Manar Rahall turned the building on the corner of 107 Avenue and 101 Street into a barber training school, but said the crime in the area has progressively worsened since opening in 2015.
“We’ve unfortunately now dealt with 46 break-ins here at the academy. This past Labour Day weekend has been the worst we’ve ever seen,” Rahall said.
“It’s exhausting — really exhausting.”
She said the latest break-in resulted in about $150,000 in theft and damages.
The business was closed for a week for repairs and cleanup.
“They destroyed the place. Our front desk was ruined, windows were broken. We had desks and walls broken everywhere. We had every single laptop, computer, all our students’ tools were taken out of their stations,” Rahall said.
On Monday morning, a few of the windows were still broken and the door still needed repairs.
“Every morning you come in and my one thought is: ‘Has it happened again?'” Rahall said. “A business owner should be thinking about the business and not worrying about whether or not they’re broken in again.”
Two years ago, Rahall said she was mugged outside after working late.
This latest break-in has her considering moving.
“It’s the safety of our staff and students and it’s unfortunately something that I can’t control,” she said. “My neighbours down the block, the only option they’re looking at is moving and it shouldn’t be the only option.”
On Monday, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi was asked about the crime in the area. He said resources to improve safety are being spent in the area.
“We are creating the Healthy Streets initiative. We have provided more funding for private security for businesses. We are doing more cleanup of back alleys and roads and we are picking up more litter and needles,” Sohi said.
On Aug. 15, city council also approved $15 million over two years to fund the Healthy Streets Operations Centre, located in Chinatown, the mayor previously said.
That money will increase the presence and visibility of police officers, peace officers, fire prevention officers, community safety liaisons, housing providers and agency outreach workers deployed in the area.