A series of nighttime break-ins to unlocked homes in the Bedford area has police and the local councillor reminding people to lock up.
“My intention is not to scare people but to make people aware this is happening,” said Coun. Tim Outhit. “There have been three issues this summer; graffiti, car breaks and house breaks. I’ve been meeting and talking with the police on an almost daily basis this summer.”
While graffiti and thefts from unlocked cars remain a concern, Outhit said the most worrying trend is an increase in thefts from people’s homes. Several unlocked homes were broken into over the past three weekends.
“In Ridgevale and Basinview, some people are not locking their back doors, or leaving their screen doors open because of the heat. Someone’s taking advantage of that and coming in and taking electronics and things,” he said. “People understandably don’t like the fact that while they were sleeping, somebody was rummaging around in their kitchen or living room. Going into unlocked homes is a little scary.”
Residents are being encouraged to always lock their doors and report any suspicious activity to the police.
“I can’t discuss the details, but I have been very, very happy with the response of the police and what they’ve been doing here,” Outhit said.
He estimates a dozen arrests have been made over the summer months, including the arrest of three youths suspected of breaking into and vandalizing the LeBrun Centre about two weeks ago. There was also a drug bust around the Moirs Mill pumphouse, which has been hit by vandalism and graffiti.
“What I’m trying to show is that we have a problem. I want residents to know to lock their doors,” he said. “The police are on it, but they need people to lock their doors, watch out for their neighbours, and report when something is removed from their homes or cars.”
A small group of youths were recently apprehended with goods that were assumed stolen, but the police couldn’t be certain because the items hadn’t been reported missing.
Police need to know where and when thefts are taking place and what items are going missing for their statistics and the deployment of their resources.
“We have our quick response unit out, which is an unmarked, un-uniformed presence,” said Halifax Regional Police Cst. Brian Palmeter. “Their goal is to work covertly and work on the hot spots.”
Palmeter said police reports indicated a total of 17 house break-ins in the Bedford area for the year, with about eight of those having occurred since July 31.
A total of 82 thefts from vehicles was also reported during the past year. While the month of July marked a particularly high incidence of thefts from vehicles in the Bedford area, Palmeter said August was steady but no worse than usual.
“Take out anything that even has the appearance of value. Even a bag full of dirty laundry may be valuable to someone else. Even a handful of change is enticing” Palmeter said. “A thief doesn’t care about the cost of your broken window. Take things of potential value out of your car when you’re not in it.”
Shore Drive, Eaglewood and Ridgevale subdivision residents were affected by a recent rash of thefts from unlocked cars. Thieves are particularly interested in items like GPS units, ipods and satellite radio systems.
“These are more crimes of opportunity, things are left in plain sight and the vehicle doors are left unlocked,” Palmeter said. “Thefts from sheds is another thing we typically see in May, June, July and August especially. Again, it’s important to keep your homes, sheds and vehicles locked.”
