The persistent trend of theft from motor vehicles in Agassiz, Popkum and Harrison Hot Springs community continued in the first three months of 2016, Agassiz RCMP revealed last week.
Unsurprisingly, in most cases valuables are left insecure overnight and are found stolen in the morning, according to police.
“The entire LMD has seen a spike in property crime and we are not immune to offenders travelling into our jurisdiction and committing crime,” said Sgt. Darren Rennie along with the first quarter’s crime map release. “We need to come together as a community and help each other by watching out for each other’s property and calling police to report crime and/or suspicious activity.”
In Agassiz, police received ten reported cases of theft from motor vehicles.
Of the ten, six of the thefts were from insecure vehicles and occurred during the overnight hours.
Two of the complaints were theft of licence plates, one was a theft of a truck tail gate and one was forced entry into a vehicle.
In Popkum there were ten reported cases of theft from motor vehicles.
Of those ten thefts, six occurred overnight from insecure vehicles.
And in Harrison Hot Springs there were six reported theft from motor vehicles.
Four of those were from secure vehicles where windows were smashed to gain entry.
The common theme in these cases was that valuables were left in plain view of the offenders along with a large number of vehicles being left insecure overnight.
There have been recent successes as a result of community members helping each other and the police.
Social media helped to identify two suspects in a residential break-and-enter in Popkum in February where video surveillance captured a clear video of the suspects.
Twenty-nine-year-old Charles Heward and 29-year-old Tiffany Orgill of Chilliwack have been charged with break-and-enter.
In March there was a significant residential break-and-enter where collector coins, electronics and jewelry were stolen.
A police investigation remains ongoing as the police attempt to identify the suspects responsible.
RCMP are calling for the public's assistance in solving and preventing these crimes.
“These are wonderful communities we live in and property crime affects us all,” Rennie said. “I urge everyone to keep valuables out of your vehicles overnight and to call police to report any suspicious behaviour. One phone call that brings a marked police car into your neighbourhood may be enough to deter a would-be thief.”
