This alert was issued from the Edmonton Police Service. Please circulate among your neighbours to make our community aware of the issue.
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West and southwest residents cautioned about string of property thefts
The Edmonton Police Service is encouraging residents to secure their property after a number of break and enters and thefts from vehicles in west and southwest Edmonton over the past month.
Police have received an increased number of reported garage B&Es in the Parkview, Crestwood, west Jasper Place, Grovenor, Canora and Sherwood communities. The break-ins have occurred primarily to detached garages with back alley access, during day-time hours when residents were not at home.
“We’ve had 15 reported garage B&Es from these neighbourhoods since July 7, 2014,” said Acting Staff Sergeant Joseph Lewis from the Criminal Investigation Section out of West Division. “Usually, it’s bicycles and hand tools stolen. In all of these incidents, the garage was left unlocked and easily accessed.”
There has also been an increase in reported theft from vehicle occurrences in North Glenora, Glenora, Woodcroft and Inglewood. Many of the vehicles targeted were left unlocked, making for easy access to electronics, loose change and remote garage door openers.
In southwest Edmonton, police have responded to an influx of overnight thefts from vehicles and garage B&Es. There have been 34 reported occurrences the week of July 14 in the Chappelle, Allard, Rutherford, Bears Paw and Richford neighbourhoods, up from 12 the previous week. Some of the garages and vehicles were also left unlocked.
Residents are asked to assist the police in deterring crime by securing their properties, fully closing overhead garage doors when not at home or going to bed, securing all vehicles, parking in a garage opposed to the street and locking pedestrian garage doors. This includes locking the pedestrian door from attached garages that leads directly into the residence itself.
Another proactive practice is to bring remote garage door openers inside with you upon getting home, and removing all visible valuables from vehicles if parking on the street. If residents are planning on being away on vacation or extended leave, activate the “lock” feature on the main control panel for garage openers, engage a manual locking device, or disconnect the power altogether so the door can’t be activated remotely.
Residents are encouraged to report any suspicious persons, vehicles and activity as soon as it happens.
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Anyone with information regarding these occurrences is urged to contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.