Some Cambridge business owners are at a breaking point as they battle thieves targeting tools and equipment, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and losses.
A group of concerned businesses, mostly industrial, have banded together to appeal to all levels of government for a help in stopping persistent thefts.
"They won't stop. We have foot traffic coming in here on a nightly basis and we are a closed-in and fenced-off years," said Vic Berzins owner of Nabatech Communications Ltd. on Sheldon Drive.
Berzins has been repeatedly targeted by thieves over the 12 years he has been located in Cambridge, but recently things have started to ramp up.
Nabatech specializes in replacing communications equipment such as telephone and internet lines as well as giant transmitters used by Bell and Rogers.
"On jobs that we do we end up with a lot of copper wire, brass components from the decommissioned equipment and this is a gold mine to these people," said Berzins.
"When they go through our garbage and take stuff, fine we are throwing it away, but when they cut into our trailers, steal our tools and damage vehicles, then it's a problem."
If tools are stolen, then Berzins and his crew cannot go out for jobs and are forced to wait until they can be replaced, putting a lag on services for customers.
Nabatech and several other surrounding businesses including industrial and mechanic shops are reporting losing well over $250k in the last six months.
Security precautions have been taken by all the businesses including upgraded security cameras, steel bins to block trailers and large sheet metal to patch holes in fences.
Footage shown to CambridgeToday from Nabatech security cameras shows unidentified persons entering the yard on Sheldon Drive through a hole in the fence. They then lower the trailers at the front, exposing the back door and then cut off the lock.
"If they come here at night or on a long weekend they know they're going to have a couple of hours to figure out how to get into our trailers," said Berzins. "I wake up at 2 a.m. and I'm checking my cameras to see if anyone is there. It's not healthy to live like this."
He notes they have stopped patching certain holes, because new ones are cut faster than they get can repairs done.
On one occasion a forklift had been holding down the top of a metal bin and thieves took two hours to figure out how to move the forks, exposing all of the copper wire inside.
The group recently spoke at a city council meeting where Cambridge councillor Adam Cooper proposed a motion to call on the province to change the criminal code and hold individuals responsible for their crimes.
"Unfortunately, they are yet another example of the ever-increasing list of frustrated businesses across our city that are victimized on a regular basis by criminals that have very little fear of any being arrested or of any kind of meaningful judicial repercussions," said Cooper.
"Crime, both organized and drug-related are ravaging our city and it's unacceptable."
Cooper's motion was unanimously passed by city council back in February.
"Our justice system that we look to for protection is broken and will remain so until the people demand action from our provincial and federal leaders," he said.
"It's a sad state of affairs when these criminal incidents become so commonplace that it's no longer even shocking."
Police did not respond to requests for comment on the story, but in an earlier interview communications manager for Waterloo Regional Police Services, Cherri Greeno noted that police must follow criminal code requirements and consider "a number of factors" before determining whether a person can be held in custody for what's called a show-cause hearing.
When asked where all of his tools and equipment end up, Berzins said he has found his tools in local pawn shops and was told if he wanted them back, he could pay for it.
He has also gone looking for copper wire that was stolen from him and adds he has seen it firsthand at local metal recyclers.
Gerdau Steel on Main Street told CambridgeToday that they will never accept material that is suspected stolen and will call police if they think someone has committed a crime.
"A lot of these guys are coming from the encampments and I feel bad for them that they feel like this is the only way for them to make money. We as business owners have to pay the price for issues that run deeper than we can even begin to imagine."
"No one wakes up and says, 'I want to be a homeless person that steals,' there are reasons why they are there and they need help."
Beyond criminal code reforms, Berzins said affordable housing, addiction support and mental health support need increased funding or the situation will only continue to get worse.
"They are living in despair and it’s hard to see when you are repeatedly victimized, but these are human beings trying to survive by any means possible," he said.
The group is constantly communicating with local police and city council in hopes of making changes to protect their businesses and their customers.
"It's not fair that we get the short end of the stick, our insurance goes up and it's a nightmare to make a claim to see any return on these damages so we just have to eat it and it sucks," said Berzins.
