Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Whitehorse Star

CRIME AGAINST A VEHICLE OWNER – The window of this vehicle was smashed during the night of July 4-5 while it was parked in downtown Whitehorse. The RCMP have issued suggestions for reducing vehicle break-and-enters.

RCMP offering tips to help avoid thefts from vehicles

Whitehorse RCMP have noticed an increase in thefts from vehicles, and are offering advice to local residents.

By Whitehorse Star on July 31, 2020

Whitehorse RCMP have noticed an increase in thefts from vehicles, and are offering advice to local residents.

Thieves have been targeting various items, from small change to expensive tools, police said Wednesday.

They have been taking steps to mitigate and respond to these calls, and are asking for assistance from the public in reducing opportunities for thieves to strike.

Police offer these tips:

• Lock vehicle doors all the time, even if parked in a home driveway. Never leave your vehicle unattended if it is running or the keys are in it.

• In public places like street parking or parking lots, make sure to leave your vehicle in a well-lit, open area.

• Consider installing motion sensor lights that will illuminate the area where your vehicle is parked overnight. Bright lights and the opportunity for witnesses to observe or interrupt are deterrents to this sort of crime.

• Remove valuable items, like wallets and purses, expensive sunglasses and phones from your car, truck or SUV before leaving the vehicle unattended.

• Cover or hide spare change, charge cords, or garage door openers.

• Don’t leave wrapped gifts or shopping bags in view. Thieves are looking for an easy target, and will often pass over vehicles if they cannot see anything of value.

• Put away other items from your yard or patio that are visible from the street, to prevent thieves from coming onto property.

Most importantly, police said, do not put yourself in an unsafe situation if you come across someone committing a crime.

If you observe someone committing a property crime at your home, call police.

If it safe to do so, consider taking actions like turning on an outside light or activating the remote panic button on keys.

Personal health and safety should be a priority over belongings, police reminded the public.

Comments (8)

Up 17 Down 1

DA on Aug 5, 2020 at 4:20 pm

People should stop depending on the RCMP for everything. The RCMP can't be everywhere at all times, nor do they have unlimited resources. If you want to avoid theft, take some of the reasonable steps that have been suggested in this article.

Up 20 Down 1

Anie on Aug 3, 2020 at 3:14 pm

Mick, bylaw issues tickets, not cops.

Up 23 Down 1

Politico on Aug 3, 2020 at 1:01 pm

@Mick RCMP don't issue parking tickets, only bylaw officers. Cheers

Up 12 Down 5

woodcutter on Aug 3, 2020 at 10:13 am

Another "ice cream patrol" message?

Up 25 Down 6

Bobby M on Aug 3, 2020 at 9:48 am

Or, you know, add some officers so random patrols can occur throughout the night? And these jerks get caught? They say to call police but the last time I called police due to someone car prowling, they didn't show up for over 3 hours. Ironically, the thief decided they didn't want to hang around for the 3 hours. Who knew?

Up 16 Down 24

Mick on Aug 1, 2020 at 11:17 pm

in the mean time the cops still prefer to ticket parking vehicles which are 1 minute over time. It's just about priorities eh?

Up 20 Down 6

Josey Wales on Aug 1, 2020 at 10:47 pm

Too bad it was not a PR piece directed to THIEVES!

"Tired of getting beaten, having your hands broken and random people getting really, really angry at you"?
"If yes is the answer, please refrain from taking items that do not belong to you"

...a more Mensa approach.
Oh geez I just had a thought, Is Mensa forced to subscribe to "equity policies" too?
dang it...another institution down the drain via "progress"

Up 18 Down 3

So obvious it hurts on Aug 1, 2020 at 8:50 am

Brought to you by our friends at Mensa .

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.