Kelowna restaurant owner Jason Bell said in October 2024 that he was spending thousands of dollars on alarms and private security after threats, vandalism and repeated disorder around his Highway 97 business. He said the measures were intended to protect employees and customers while local businesses pressed governments for a broader response.
The incidents Bell described
Bell said a person tampered with the restaurant’s electrical equipment and threatened an employee who intervened. He also described an earlier occasion when staff leaving at night encountered a group that included a person with a knife.
Other reported problems included break-ins, theft, fires near the building and disruptive conduct inside or around the restaurant. These were the owner’s accounts; individual allegations should not be converted into criminal guilt without police evidence and due process.
The cost shifted to the business
Bell hired guards at different times and invested in new security systems. A private guard may deter conduct and summon help, but cannot replace trained police, mental-health response or a safe public realm.
Small firms often lack the budget of large chains even when they face similar risks. Security spending can reduce wages, investment or operating hours and may still leave workers responsible for difficult encounters.
What employees should be asked to do
Workers should not be expected to physically confront a person damaging property or stealing food. Employers need written procedures for withdrawal, emergency calls, safe closing, incident documentation and support after a threat.
Training can help staff de-escalate when it is safe, but it does not transfer responsibility for violence to the employee. Barriers, lighting, paired closing shifts and control of electrical or waste areas can reduce exposure.
The chamber’s response
Kelowna Chamber of Commerce acting chief executive Colleen Clark said property crime and public safety were leading concerns at a roundtable involving dozens of businesses. The chamber planned to use those discussions in its policy and advocacy programme.
Business testimony identifies problems quickly, while reliable policy also needs police data, victimization reporting, emergency-call patterns and evidence about which interventions work.
City and provincial responsibilities
Kelowna officials said they had pressed provincial leaders at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention for stronger action on repeat property offenders. The city linked that request with recommendations from the mayor’s crime-reduction task force.
Police and courts address offences, while health care, supportive housing, addiction treatment and outreach address crises that enforcement alone cannot resolve. Jurisdictional complexity should lead to coordinated responsibility, not each government pointing to another.
Avoiding stigma and vigilantism
Bell warned that frustrated people might take matters into their own hands. That risk makes a credible official response urgent. Vigilante action can escalate danger, harm uninvolved people and compromise investigations.
Homelessness, mental illness and substance use do not make a person inherently violent. Reporting can acknowledge visible disorder and worker fear without labelling an entire vulnerable population as criminal.
What a measurable solution looks like
A practical plan would track repeat locations, response times, serious incidents, business losses and referrals to appropriate services. It would provide a single reporting route and tell owners what follow-up to expect.
Bell’s spending was a symptom of a gap: one business was purchasing protection against conditions shaped across the community. Safer streets required immediate risk management and sustained social intervention, with transparent results rather than another round of promises after each alarming incident.
