Prince George, B.C.-Property crime is alive and well in Prince George and the RCMP Crime Prevention  Unit  and Community Policing are trying to do something about it.

This evening, at the Regional District  of Fraser Fort George building  at 155 George Street, an information evening  is set where  the RCMP, Conservation, Fire and Rescue Services, City bylaw  and  City and Regional District Parks  representatives will be on hand to answer questions and address concerns.

Linda Parker, Coordinator  for Community Policing in Prince George  says while  the  items that are stolen  may differ between rural and urban settings,   the thefts are still happening.”Property crime is not exclusive to the bowl area of Prince George, we also have property crime in our rural areas.”  The Rural  Crime Watch and Block Watch programs are pro-active  programs to  encourage people to keep an eye on each other’s property.

Two previous  sessions have been held in the region, one in the Hart, the other  in Beaverly.  “We had a lot of questions about  bylaws, dangerous dogs, conservation issues, issues with   recreational vehicles” says  Parker.  “In the bowl area,  there were lots of  questions about property crime.  It’s really  more of a ‘what can I do, and what are the rules and restrictions when it  comes to things like recreational vehicles?’ Some interesting questions have stemmed from our meetings.”

Parker says  there is no doubt property crime is  evident in rural  areas ” I can’t say that it’s increasing, but it’s definitely expanding out into rural areas.   The things that are stolen  from rural areas are simply different from things that  are stolen  from  urban areas.   As we get into rural properties, we have rifles being stolen, or all terrain vehicles being stolen.  Property theft,  unfortunately, is alive and well in Prince George  and this is an opportunity to deal with it.”

The session is set to start at 7 this evening and run until 9.