Retail workers report feeling unsafe following recent downtown Vancouver attacks

Simon Coutts, the owner of Simon's Bike Shop in downtown Vancouver, said the attack in broad daylight on two people at a 7-Eleven across the street underscores his worry for the safety of other retail workers in the neighbourhood. 

Coutts said he constantly has to replace smashed windows, frequently sees customers try to shoplift, and has even had his door ripped off.

"Every single day, there's something that happens," Coutts said. "If you come to work every day and you're in fear that something's going to happen, it's not fun."

In light of the recent attack, he's one of several retail and food workers who say they are feeling less safe at their jobs.

But while police-reported statistics show theft has increased, violent crime is not seeing the same increase in British Columbia's largest cities, compared to the rest of the province. Still, some retail workers report facing more harassment and disrespect. 

"Employees shouldn't have to come to work in fear," Coutts said. "It should be a little bit safer."

B.C.'s public safety minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Theft up, violent crime fluctuating

Theft in Vancouver has risen over the past three years, according to data from the Vancouver Police Department. It shows the rate of theft per 1,000 people in 2023 was 17.3, 11 per cent higher than in 2022. 

Theft last year was lower than in 2019, which saw a rate of 18.9 per 1,000 people. 

Statistics Canada's crime severity index measures serious crime across the country. It collects police-reported statistics on crime, determines the relative seriousness of offences using court sentences, and aggregates that information to determine the level of crime severity in each jurisdiction.

Those levels are then compared to levels in 2006.

According to the index, although violent crime in B.C. has been trending upward in the past decade, the trend is not reflected in the province's two most populous cities: Vancouver and Surrey.

In Vancouver, the violent crime index has fluctuated over the past 10 years. As of 2023, it is down six per cent from a decade earlier. During the pandemic, it rose seven per cent from 2021 to 2022 but dropped three per cent in 2023.

Meanwhile, violent crime in Surrey has been dropping since 2019, and in 2023 was 27 per cent lower than a decade earlier. 

Retail workers report increased rudeness and harassment

Even so, the uptick in thefts puts retail staff in uncomfortable positions, said Patrick Johnson, president of the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union 1518 (UFCW 1518), which represents more than 14,000 grocery and retail workers across B.C.

He said many retail workers are reporting increased levels of harassment and rudeness since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Coming out of the pandemic … there was quite a bit of frustration with some of the new processes, like [wearing] masks," he said. "[People] took that out on retail workers, and that lack of respect actually became normalized."

Now, he is calling for employers to take measures to keep workers safe, like ensuring retail stores have more staff, especially during evenings.

"When there are more workers around, when there are more staff around, it is safer," he said.

He said retail workers should be able to report abusive customers, and employers should ensure those customers do not return to stores. 

"The idea that the customer is always right is not the case when the customer is repeatedly not respecting me," he said.