Property Crimes Spike in P.G.
Prince George, B.C. – RCMP in Prince George say property crimes and break and enters have spiked in the first two months of 2017 compared to the same period a year ago.
From January 1st to February 19th, the Prince George RCMP have received 661 reports of property crimes compared to 503 during the same period last year, that’s an increase of 30%.
During this period, there were 88 thefts from vehicles reported, compared to 76 in the same period last year with Police saying the Heritage and Downtown being hit particularly hard. RCMP say vehicles in commercial parking lots are also being targeted.
Police are pleading with the public to lock vehicle doors and NEVER leave valuables including purses and wallets in a vehicle. In some cases, licence plates or validation decals are being stolen.
“Like many other communities, there are people that walk residential streets late at night or early in the morning, checking every car door to see if it is unlocked” says Cpl. Craig Douglass, spokesperson for the Prince George RCMP. “Residents that leave valuables in their vehicles and their doors unlocked are fueling this property crime trend. We need to all do our part to eliminate this crime. Don’t be a victim. Remove valuables, lock doors and report suspicious activity to police.”
Police are also finding a spike in Break & Enters to Businesses in Prince George. Between January 1st and February 19th, RCMP have received 32 such reports, more than double the 15 such reports received in the same period a year ago. Doors are being pried open or entry is gained through other openings in the businesses. Gated compounds are being targeted as well. RCMP are asking that business owners take the necessary steps to ensure there is adequate security in place.
Comments
“Residents that leave valuables in their vehicles and their doors unlocked are fueling this property crime trend.”
Interesting comment.
Where is the back up data for that comment? Without out it, it is simply a baseless, irresponsible comment.
Yes, those are habits of some people, but the suggestion that it is the cause for the increase needs some justification.
Just think, when people need money and they have no other way of getting it, they will resort to any method necessary. Some other type of crime will shortly appear.
Deal with the root of the problem.
Agreed, just think how many people are now unemployed in the area, this combined with climbing poverty rates tend to motivate these kinds of property crimes.
If I was unemployed, and me and my children were living below the poverty line, would I resort to stealing to feed my kids? I don’t know, but it sure would be tempting.
gopg2015 has it right, we need to deal with the root of the problem. I would really like to see the numbers, particularly property crime rates in Prince Rupert as a comparison. The child poverty rate in that city is nearly 40%, how much has property crimes in that city increased?
Desperate times call for desperate measures!
FYI. The quote says “fueling” not “causing”.
The valuables and unlocked doors are the fuel. No implication is made that they are the cause.
Give me a break! Are you that naive? Have you not looked in the car next to you when you park and seen the stuff people leave in their vehicles in plain view? The window down, keys in the ignition? Not everyone puts their junk in the trunk. They don’t even think about it until something is stolen.
The so called back up data is in the crime itself. Are you going to break in to a car where nothing is on display? Are you going to bust a window when it’s left open in your house. Crime is quite often opportunity based, quick in and out, vehicle or car. People are so ignorant about theft and it happens.
Cover your valuables up, keep them out of sight, use a car alarm system, use a club on your steering wheel, get an alarm at home, teach your kids about security, lock your backyard shed up, there are so many ways to deter crime, but people are lazy.
Gopg, I hope you’re never broken in to car or house, all it takes is a common sense approach.
Give the addicts free prescriptions for their drugs, get the insurance companies to help fund it…end of most property crime!!
Where do insurance companies get their money? Hint: not the magical money tree.
gopg2015-Have to agree with you. It is not only drugs that are a problem. When you have welfare rates at $610.00 per month how do expect people to pay rent and buy food and clothing? This is why you have people wandering around looking for something to take. Don’t bother telling me they can go get a job because there are very few. When you do not have a vehicle or a phone it makes it very hard to find work. This is why more people are using the food banks.
Or maybe many of those on welfare can go out and get a real job instead of stealing from those who have earned it.
There are lots of jobs out there, but some prefer to steal because it’s easier and they feel entitled to other people’s stuff.
What ever you say Dale Gribble.
Weak comeback Peeps. Or are you still hurting from the schooling Ryder and others gave you in the softwood story? It’s ok if you are, just find someone else’s shoulder to cry on.
That would be too hard, junkies don’t understand that word anymore, too many brain cells destroyed.
We can vote in a NDP government and they can raise rates 5% to bring in people from out of province and then call all welfare recipients “vagrants” and cheats and then lower the rate. That would be much better right?
Newfoundland provides $9,652 per year in welfare payments while B.C. provided $7,824, about midway in the range across Canada.
Huh, Newfoundland provides the highest welfare rate in the country, but we don’t see “vagrants” and cheats flocking to that province, now do we?
Cuz no one wants to go there
Psst… your numbers are from and article written in 2012 using rates from 2010, but hey it is probably the only article you read on the subject anyway
There are those on welfare who really need it. Take the deadbeat dad or mom who left,the abusive controller boyfriend, throw in a medical disability. The embarrassment and humiliation of having to go in to Social Services asking for a handout can be very devastating, especially for those who had never needed it in the past and all of a sudden find themselves in that situation. It breaks a person down but quite often they get up, dust themselves off get back on their feet and move on. You get a single guy who cons the Social workers into believing he’s destitute those are the ones I have no use for and they bleed the system any way they can. If they don’t get enough money, they go out and steal. Those are the ones who are stealing from the rest of us. It’s the guy, the stranger in the neighborhood with the backpack, the guy cruising around on his bike, people see them, but don’t call police, let someone else deal with it, or he’s not coming here, why should I care.
Leave your doors unlocked, your windows open. Then of course, blame the police for not patrolling, gotta blame someone else in this age of entitlement.
Long time ago, inmates were still getting their welfare cheques when they were doing time, hope that’s changed.
Too many drugs being seized, or the cost of Fentanyl just went up.
Or, who did they let out of jail recently?
Way too many.
There is no support for the poor in this province. Its easy to say go get a job but are there jobs out there to take. and that’s the story for our lovely province. There is no plan or thought given for the homeless. Its great for the haves to critique the poor by those that have it. We have the highest poverty rate in Canada. I would think that someone in our government should care. Its all about feeding our corporation for more election funds
Cheers
We have support for the poor, those that really need it, but there are those that take advantage of the system that screw it up for the rest. It’s always been, always will be. I’d love to see rates go up for those that really need it, but these financial assistance workers can’t seem to distinguish between cons and the needy.
Look at all the Hillary, NDP, Lib voters blaming the victims and not the criminals. Priceless.
Where, in any of our comments, do we blame the victims of property crimes? Another out-to-lunch statement from the far right!
Most of the comments above blame the victim of the crime, which blog you reading?
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