The RCMP arrested five teens last month, as thefts from vehicles take a worrying upward spike in the city.
An officer arrested two teens and further investigation led to the arrest of three more after police received a report of people trying car doors in Deer Ridge on May 27.
The RCMP’s crime analyst had noticed a string of similar thefts in the neighbourhood and in nearby North Ridge.
“We had one of our officers up in that area, trying to see if we could curtail anything, be visible, prevent something,” said Cpl. Laurel Kading. “That allowed our officer to make a fairly quick response.”
After several straight years of declines, in what has been one of the city’s most common crimes, recent statistics have turned in the opposite direction.
“We have had a 35 per cent rise in thefts from motor vehicles from last year to this year, in this time period, which concerns us quite a bit.”
The city saw 455 reports of the crime in all of 2011 and as of June 7, already had 302 reports of the same crime this year, putting it on track for a significant increase.
“It is a fairly easy crime of opportunity and that is what is concerning us, there doesn’t need to be a lot of strategy to this. It can simply be a matter of going around and trying all the door handles of vehicles,” said Kading.
The five youths arrested were found with a handful of items believed to be stolen from vehicles. Four of them were aged 17 and one was 16 and they were all charged with one count of possession of stolen property and one count of theft.
Kading said the crime can be lucrative and when thieves encounter open doors it can also be fairly easy.
She said the crime will migrate if thieves encounter row after row of locked doors with no valuables inside.
“They will move to areas where there are more things to steal and I think unfortunately the reputation is getting around that there are easy pickings here.”
She encouraged residents to lock their car doors at night and take their valuables into the house.
