David Screech doesnsa国际传媒檛 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 storesa国际传媒檚 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 sa国际传媒渢he tipping point.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚 think we would have hung in there for a little while longer if those issues hadnsa国际传媒檛 become so difficult in the last little while,sa国际传媒� Screech said.

sa国际传媒淥ne of the most frightening (things) is that wesa国际传媒檝e had in the last 18 months fires set at our back door four or five times. And itsa国际传媒檚 only just by some divine intervention that the whole building hasnsa国际传媒檛 gone up.sa国际传媒�

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 sa国际传媒渞evolving doorsa国际传媒� 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 Vancouversa国际传媒檚 Chinatown, a swarming attack on paramedics in Victoria, and stabbings near the White Rock pier. On Sept. 4, one man was killed and anothersa国际传媒檚 hand was cut off in a pair of gruesome attacks in downtown Vancouver sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒渂y 30 per cent since 2018sa国际传媒� with many businesses reporting higher levels of concern around employee and customer safety.

sa国际传媒淟ast weeksa国际传媒檚 tragic situation highlighted where we are at and the need for all levels of government to come together,sa国际传媒� said Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson, referring to the Sept. 4 attacks at a news conference announcing the groupsa国际传媒檚 concerns.

sa国际传媒淪imply, what wesa国际传媒檙e doing right now doesnsa国际传媒檛 work,sa国际传媒� 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 Universitysa国际传媒檚 School of Criminology, said while many people sa国际传媒� himself included sa国际传媒� are seeing evidence of sa国际传媒渋n-your-facesa国际传媒� 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.

sa国际传媒淚 see it myself when I walk down the street,sa国际传媒� Andresen said. sa国际传媒淭here are a lot more people out. sa国际传媒� We seem to have a lot of people who are desperate, and theresa国际传媒檚 more panhandling everywhere I go. Violence appears to be, at least, a lot more in-your-face.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not out of control,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淐an it go down? Of course it can. Wesa国际传媒檙e still having these events, and they are negative events.sa国际传媒�

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 sa国际传媒渄own or relatively steady.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淏ased on the data, in some cases, yes, there are things on the increase,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淎lso, maybe just the nature of some of these crimes have become more in-our-face than ever before.sa国际传媒�

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 didnsa国际传媒檛 not mean it wasnsa国际传媒檛 happening.

sa国际传媒淧art of it is businesses just donsa国际传媒檛 bother reporting,sa国际传媒� said Bray, a former BC Liberal MLA whosa国际传媒檚 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.

sa国际传媒淎s a society, wesa国际传媒檝e kind of accepted some behaviours now that we would never have accepted 10 years ago,sa国际传媒� Bray said. sa国际传媒淎s a result, wesa国际传媒檙e seeing behaviours get more aggressive, wesa国际传媒檙e seeing people become more brazen, and wesa国际传媒檙e seeing less of a response to these things.sa国际传媒�

A recent survey conducted his group showed that 82 per cent of the roughly 500 business owners and operators asked sa国际传媒渉ave increased fear and anxietysa国际传媒� due to crime and disorder in their neighbourhoods.

Both Bray and Screech said the situation around B.C.sa国际传媒檚 downtowns has deteriorated so severely that there was pressure for drastic steps.

sa国际传媒淭here are people in our community who are incapable of functioning without being a harm to themselves or others,sa国际传媒� Bray said. sa国际传媒淎nd so, involuntary care has to be, I think, part of the policy mix.

sa国际传媒淲e have people now with permanent brain injuries as a result of the toxic drug supply, sa国际传媒� and all wesa国际传媒檙e offering right now is low-barrier supportive housing sa国际传媒� where they continue to be able to use drugs, to be exploited by the criminal element. These things are not working.sa国际传媒�

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 sa国际传媒渮ero tolerancesa国际传媒� for violent repeat offenders and appointing judges that prioritize victimssa国际传媒� 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.

sa国际传媒淟ocking up people for longer isnsa国际传媒檛 going to solve the problem,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淲hatsa国际传媒檚 being described in a lot of these policies is criminalizing poverty, criminalizing marginalized populations. And thatsa国际传媒檚 not the solution to our problem.sa国际传媒�

Screech disagreed.

sa国际传媒淚 think itsa国际传媒檚 a bipartisan issue, and I think what wesa国际传媒檝e done in trying to be a caring, empathetic society and government, wesa国际传媒檝e crossed the line sa国际传媒� into facilitating a lifestyle. And I think all the parties have to look at that with a clear lens,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淲e want to offer treatment and we want to help people, but we donsa国际传媒檛 want to facilitate a lifestyle that nobody is prepared to change.sa国际传媒�