South Cariboo residents are advised to keep an eye on their property this winter.
Staff. Sgt. Kevin Smith said that over the last few months, 100 Mile RCMP have noticed an upswing in theft, from retail shoplifting to individuals breaking into storage lockers of businesses. Smith said he can’t attribute this spike to anything specific, but noted that there has been an increase in theft across the province this fall.
“100 Mile House has always suffered from thefts like this but there has definitely been an uptick in the last couple of months. It’s mainly been in places that are industrial areas where there are not a lot of cameras or public there,” Smith said. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in thefts to storage lockers and petty theft from unlocked cars.”
So far Smith said it’s unclear if these thefts, especially where storage lockers have been broken into, are connected in any way. RCMP are currently investigating and ramping up patrols in impacted areas during the time previous thefts have occurred.
Smith said the best way people can help stop this theft is by investing in high-quality security cameras. While cameras on their own no longer deter theft, high-quality images of the perpetrators will help RCMP track down those responsible for the crimes.
“We’re requesting surveillance footage from the area, canvasing the neighbourhood and we’re asking the public if they see anyone suspicious to give us a call right away,” Smith said. “Suspicious meaning someone walking by businesses late at night repeatedly or cars left parked in strange places running for long periods of time, things like that.”
The 100 Mile RCMP can be reached at 250-395-2456.
