After testing the waters, B.C. businessman recommends Baby Shark to address crime in Kamloops and the Okanagan
In response to a growing number of unwanted visitors, the owner of a downtown Nanaimo business made Baby Shark his after-hours soundtrack. Baby Shark is a timeless classic among tots, but most adults agree that it’s incredibly annoying. It was the perfect remedy to Drzewiecki’s problem....
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In response to a growing number of unwanted visitors, the owner of a downtown Nanaimo business made Baby Shark his after-hours soundtrack.
Baby Shark is a timeless classic among tots, but most adults agree that it’s incredibly annoying.
It was the perfect remedy to Drzewiecki’s problem. He’s the owner of NYLA Fresh Thread on Commercial Street, nearby where the City opened a new warming centre this winter.
Camping, open drug use and vandalism were not big problems in that part of the city before the warming centre opened, Drzewiecki said, but they are now.
Drzewiecki hates showing up to his menswear store to find human faces, smashed windows and broken crack pipes.
“I’m not expecting my staff to deal with that,” he said.
He considered investing in a steel shutter to keep the store safer, but that would reflect poorly on a fashion business, as well as on the rest of the downtown.
“I don’t want it to look like a prison.”
On the contrary, Drzewiecki wants his store to be a nice addition to the city even when it’s closed. He keeps some lights on overnight for window shoppers, and easy-listening music would be played at low volume.
Anyone strolling downtown Nanaimo at night can still window shop at NYLA and listen to the music that’s playing. However the song selection has changed.
“I thought it would be funny to play Baby Shark overnight,” he said, adding that the volume’s been turned up a notch.
“It’s not terribly loud, you can’t hear it from across the road.”
Since embarking upon the new security strategy last week, he said the overnight camping and bonfires near his store have stopped.
And there’s been a “super positive” response from his downtown neighbours, Drzewiecki said.
Should business owners dealing with similar issues in Kamloops and the Okanagan consider the idea?
“Definitely I would recommend it,” Drzewiecki said. “It worked for me in my situation. It’s a low-cost deterrent that definitely helps.”
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