Regina Retail

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by pappcam

I imagine the Broad and 13th one is next to close.

Have you seen how many surveillance cameras they have set up there? It looks CIA headquarters.

[Festivus]

Originally Posted by Stormer

The breakdown of social order and failure to enforce the law or punish crime is making life harder for poor people. Do gooders think they are helping by not punishing shop lifting and other petty crime, but poor areas are left without accessible services.

Similarly people blame "Big Grocery" for high food prices rather than considering the impact rampant shoplifting, supply management, over regulation and taxes.

Like most complex issues, it's a variety of factors (especially grocery prices). In terms of the crime aspect, it's no coincidence that crime spikes when cost of living increases (the root cause is not people wanting to cause crime, but rather the act of crime being more attractive due to costs otherwise pricing people out of basic stuff). Obviously there will always be some crime in society. But non-violent crime does jump when cost of living jumps.

Interestingly, though, harsher punishments/enforcements do not actually have an effect on crime. This makes sense is the root cause is cost of living, which is outside a person's control, and not a calculated desire to cause crime: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/pnshnt-rcdvsm/index-en.aspx

So having stronger enforcement/more police/longer sentences likely won't do anything to prevent shoplifting. On the extreme end, if you (in advance) gave every shoplifter an extra $2,000/mo in free cash, they likely wouldn't steal as much. This makes sense, because they could just buy things and avoid any risk. That's an extreme solution, obviously, and I'm just making it to point out that lack of money is generally the root of nonviolent crime (for theft). The big solution is to bring down cost of living (or conversely, increase wages). The problem is that this requires cooperation of federal and provincial levels of government (which is almost impossible in Canada), and then also having the luck to not be in a global downturn, etc.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Festivus

Like most complex issues, it's a variety of factors (especially grocery prices). In terms of the crime aspect, it's no coincidence that crime spikes when cost of living increases (the root cause is not people wanting to cause crime, but rather the act of crime being more attractive due to costs otherwise pricing people out of basic stuff). Obviously there will always be some crime in society. But non-violent crime does jump when cost of living jumps.

Interestingly, though, harsher punishments/enforcements do not actually have an effect on crime. This makes sense is the root cause is cost of living, which is outside a person's control, and not a calculated desire to cause crime: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/pnshnt-rcdvsm/index-en.aspx

So having stronger enforcement/more police/longer sentences likely won't do anything to prevent shoplifting. On the extreme end, if you (in advance) gave every shoplifter an extra $2,000/mo in free cash, they likely wouldn't steal as much. This makes sense, because they could just buy things and avoid any risk. That's an extreme solution, obviously, and I'm just making it to point out that lack of money is generally the root of nonviolent crime (for theft). The big solution is to bring down cost of living (or conversely, increase wages). The problem is that this requires cooperation of federal and provincial levels of government (which is almost impossible in Canada), and then also having the luck to not be in a global downturn, etc.

As someone with a close family member who was victimized by a violent offender who was released early on an already light sentence, I am not buying what these university profs are saying in these studies. Regardless, these profs generally agree that the certainty of getting caught is a deterrent. If criminals know that someone will stop them from walking out with stolen goods and the police will respond, there is a definite deterrent. The reverse is also true. That was my main point.

Also these problems got much worse before the current cost of living crisis.

[spictacular mcluvin]

Originally Posted by StealthGirl

I'm surprised that one has lasted this long.

I grew up going to the one on Broad & 13th when we used to live on 22 block Cornwall in early 80s (b4 moving to Cathedral area) and it's night and day how that has changed over the years.
Complex social issues and Covid killing the economy and creating tons of homeless people since have seen all these issues spike in every city across Canada sadly.

[Stormer]

Velara is buying the former Lakeview Gardens site on Pasqua south from Winchester (Bresciani). They intend to develop a Scandinavian Village themed retail centre.