Crime usually doesn’t help businesses, but for one sector in Central Alberta, it’s proven to be a boon.
Red Deer security service providers say business is booming. Three security companies confirm business has been in a growth trend this year.
Tri-West Security Alberta had its busiest summer this year. The company, which started in January 2013, provides security service to residential, commercial, construction and oil and gas sites in Red Deer and surrounding area.
Owner Jeff Giesbrecht said the number of potential clients interested in security services has gone up to two to three calls per week in 2018. Up until last year, this number was one or two calls per month.
“This past summer was probably the busiest we’ve ever been, and that’s due to construction sites needing on-site security to keep vagrants off their property, and to protect their assets. I would say that’s the biggest driving factor of how busy we’ve been,” said Giesbrecht.
The owner believes crime could be one of the reasons.
“We’ve seen more break and enters, more vagrants on private property, and more drug paraphernalia on private property as well – lot more needles on client sites,” he said.
Tim Mearns from Ambusch Security in Red Deer agreed crime could be one of the reasons for an uptick in business. The general manager, who recently started with Ambusch, said many variables could be at play: turnaround in the economy, advancement in technology, and lower cost of many security products and services.
“We’re ranked high in crime nationally,” he said referring to Red Deer’s crime severity index released in 2017, which ranks the city as the fifth most dangerous place in Canada.
Ambusch Security provides residential and commercial service to Central Alberta. Mearns said since this summer, he has seen a 30 to 40 per cent increase in residential service and about a 20 per cent increase in commercial service.
Cannabis legalization is also helping, said Mearns.
“It’s something we have never dealt with before. We have oil and gas, we’ve got construction and residential side, but with cannabis legalization, it’s a whole other industry right from the growing side of it to retail outlet, so that’s something else we’ve never dealt with before,” said Mearns.
Demand for security services is also up at Commissionaires, a national security company, with a branch in Red Deer. Rob Hobbs, regional manager at Commissionaires Red Deer, said there are various factors at play. One of them is crime.
“Some of the challenges our community has faced with the economy have resulted in an increase in petty crimes,” said Hobbs in an email.
Hobbs, Mearns and Giesbrecht agreed people in Central Alberta want security and peace of mind.
“More and more businesses and property owners are looking to protect their assets from theft, and to provide a sense of safety and security for their employees, tenants, clients and customers,” said Hobbs.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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