David Screech doesnB次元官网网址檛 mince words when asked about street disorder and crime around his business in downtown Victoria.

He described vehicle break-ins, people defecating on or near his store property, and someone pulling a knife on an employee in the storeB次元官网网址檚 parking lot.

Screech, a former mayor of the Victoria-area community of View Royal, has worked at Greggs Furniture & Upholstery since 1981 and has owned the business since 2000.

But the iconic store is slated to close later this year, and Screech said deteriorating safety around the business was B次元官网网址渢he tipping point.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think we would have hung in there for a little while longer if those issues hadnB次元官网网址檛 become so difficult in the last little while,B次元官网网址� Screech said.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the most frightening (things) is that weB次元官网网址檝e had in the last 18 months fires set at our back door four or five times. And itB次元官网网址檚 only just by some divine intervention that the whole building hasnB次元官网网址檛 gone up.B次元官网网址�

Business groups and others have raised concerns about crime and disorder ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election, while police, including Vancouver Chief Const. Adam Palmer, have decried what he called a B次元官网网址渞evolving doorB次元官网网址� justice system for repeat and violent offenders.

The conversation has been punctuated by a series of violent events over the past year or so in B.C.

They include a triple stabbing at a street festival in VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Chinatown, a swarming attack on paramedics in Victoria, and stabbings near the White Rock pier. On Sept. 4, one man was killed and anotherB次元官网网址檚 hand was cut off in a pair of gruesome attacks in downtown Vancouver B次元官网网址� police say the suspect was on probation at the time and has had 60 previous interactions with officers.

How to improve public safety was one of 10 questions posed by a coalition of B.C. business groups to party leaders on Sept. 10, saying the violent crime rate had increased B次元官网网址渂y 30 per cent since 2018B次元官网网址� with many businesses reporting higher levels of concern around employee and customer safety.

B次元官网网址淟ast weekB次元官网网址檚 tragic situation highlighted where we are at and the need for all levels of government to come together,B次元官网网址� said Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson, referring to the Sept. 4 attacks at a news conference announcing the groupB次元官网网址檚 concerns.

B次元官网网址淪imply, what weB次元官网网址檙e doing right now doesnB次元官网网址檛 work,B次元官网网址� Anderson said.

Statistics Canada data show the overall per capita crime rate, based on police reports, is down in B.C. by about 3 per cent since 2018. The violent crime rate cited by business leaders is up by more than 32 per cent, having spiked sharply in 2019 and it has been mostly unchanged since then.

Vancouver and Victoria have both seen a 9 per cent rise in violent crime, per capita, since 2018.

Martin Andresen, professor at Simon Fraser UniversityB次元官网网址檚 School of Criminology, said while many people B次元官网网址� himself included B次元官网网址� are seeing evidence of B次元官网网址渋n-your-faceB次元官网网址� public disorder, official statistics do not back up claims that crime and public disorder are worsening overall.

He noted that while there have been a number of high-profile crimes in B.C. in the past year, people should consider how these incidents are portrayed in the media and public discourse, and also look at hard numbers.

B次元官网网址淚 see it myself when I walk down the street,B次元官网网址� Andresen said. B次元官网网址淭here are a lot more people out. B次元官网网址� We seem to have a lot of people who are desperate, and thereB次元官网网址檚 more panhandling everywhere I go. Violence appears to be, at least, a lot more in-your-face.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not out of control,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淐an it go down? Of course it can. WeB次元官网网址檙e still having these events, and they are negative events.B次元官网网址�

Andresen said the Statistics Canada data shows most crimes in B.C. cities are down.

Notable categories where crime rates are up include uttering threats, property crimes, such as theft under $5,000, shoplifting, and mischief. But Andresen said rates of most other crime were B次元官网网址渄own or relatively steady.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淏ased on the data, in some cases, yes, there are things on the increase,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎lso, maybe just the nature of some of these crimes have become more in-our-face than ever before.B次元官网网址�

Downtown Victoria Business Association CEO Jeff Bray said he had heard the argument that statistics do not back up claims of rising crime and disorder in B.C., but that didnB次元官网网址檛 not mean it wasnB次元官网网址檛 happening.

B次元官网网址淧art of it is businesses just donB次元官网网址檛 bother reporting,B次元官网网址� said Bray, a former BC Liberal MLA whoB次元官网网址檚 also president of the Business Improvement Areas of B.C.

Bray said he has heard from downtown businesses across B.C. that disorder was increasing in many communities outside the major centres of Vancouver and Victoria.

B次元官网网址淎s a society, weB次元官网网址檝e kind of accepted some behaviours now that we would never have accepted 10 years ago,B次元官网网址� Bray said. B次元官网网址淎s a result, weB次元官网网址檙e seeing behaviours get more aggressive, weB次元官网网址檙e seeing people become more brazen, and weB次元官网网址檙e seeing less of a response to these things.B次元官网网址�

A recent survey conducted his group showed that 82 per cent of the roughly 500 business owners and operators asked B次元官网网址渉ave increased fear and anxietyB次元官网网址� due to crime and disorder in their neighbourhoods.

Both Bray and Screech said the situation around B.C.B次元官网网址檚 downtowns has deteriorated so severely that there was pressure for drastic steps.

B次元官网网址淭here are people in our community who are incapable of functioning without being a harm to themselves or others,B次元官网网址� Bray said. B次元官网网址淎nd so, involuntary care has to be, I think, part of the policy mix.

B次元官网网址淲e have people now with permanent brain injuries as a result of the toxic drug supply, B次元官网网址� and all weB次元官网网址檙e offering right now is low-barrier supportive housing B次元官网网址� where they continue to be able to use drugs, to be exploited by the criminal element. These things are not working.B次元官网网址�

Before the election began, BC NDP Leader David Eby pledged his government would open facilities to provide involuntary care, specifically for those suffering from a combination of severe addictions, mental illness and brain injuries.

Crime and public safety have also been one of the B.C. Conservatives talking points, promising to increase funding to police, applying B次元官网网址渮ero toleranceB次元官网网址� for violent repeat offenders and appointing judges that prioritize victimsB次元官网网址� rights.

Andresen said such tough measures or boosting police resources are unlikely to yield results.

He said solutions need to be based on the opinions of health experts. Housing and support programs are the first key steps, Andresen said.

B次元官网网址淟ocking up people for longer isnB次元官网网址檛 going to solve the problem,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 being described in a lot of these policies is criminalizing poverty, criminalizing marginalized populations. And thatB次元官网网址檚 not the solution to our problem.B次元官网网址�

Screech disagreed.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 a bipartisan issue, and I think what weB次元官网网址檝e done in trying to be a caring, empathetic society and government, weB次元官网网址檝e crossed the line B次元官网网址� into facilitating a lifestyle. And I think all the parties have to look at that with a clear lens,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淲e want to offer treatment and we want to help people, but we donB次元官网网址檛 want to facilitate a lifestyle that nobody is prepared to change.B次元官网网址�