The small town of St. Stephen, N.B., has been feeling the pressures of big city issues. According to the town’s local chamber of commerce, there has been an increase in crime, like vandalism, arson and break and enters, in the border town. It comes as the town continues to hold emergency meetings to solve the issues.
Nobody knows the town’s crime issues better than Bob Sweeney, the owner of Sweeney International Marine Corporation (SIMCorp), who studies the waters along the Bay of Fundy and around the world.
His business was targeted in an arson attack late Monday evening. The suspects burned his roughly $90,000 boat and almost burned his other boat but the fire department responded in time to prevent it.
Sweeney told Global News on Thursday that the fire could have potentially ruined his business, which was preparing to go on the water the next morning. He called himself “fortunate,” having only lost one boat and not losing the adjacent boats and trucks Monday evening.
“It’s more pronounced than it was a few years ago,” Sweeney said.
“Years ago, we used to keep our doors and vehicles unlocked, and today is quite the contrary.”
He commended the local St. Stephen Chamber of Commerce, which sent a letter to its members on Tuesday.
“Over the past six months, the concept of safety has diminished significantly in our community,” the letter read. “You have told us that you no longer feel safe in your business, you fear for the safety of your employees and customers. As Chamber members, you have had to lock your doors during business hours, had to ensure no employee works alone, closed your business to avoid issues and change how you run your business.
“This cannot continue.”
The chamber echoed that statement in an interview with Global News on Thursday, where its CEO Jason Rideout said the RCMP is set to meet with him and members on Tuesday.
“Vandalism has never been to the point that it is now,” he said, speaking via Zoom.
“It’s constant, and I can say three years ago, there wasn’t this issue of not feeling safe in your business or in your community.”
The mayor of St. Stephen described a meeting with the chamber and other community groups Friday evening, where the town brought forward its issues.
He called on the town to stop pointing fingers and throwing stones at each other, saying that the council is looking to address the issues immediately. He said that the town would need to look at a proactive approach to preventing crime in the area.
The town is looking to its police force as one of the solutions but said finding an appropriate solution will take time.
“We need support in this,” Mayor Allan MacEachern said on Saturday in St. Stephen.
“We need the province to take hold of the situation and prevent it. We’re just a small community that’s faced with a huge problem that we’re not used to facing.”