It’s summertime, the weather is relatively beautiful and trouble is out there. Yes, there are those who walk the streets late at night looking for trouble.
A certain group of them walk down darkened streets and avenues and through dark, quiet parking lots looking for valuables lying in plain sight, often in an unlocked vehicle. They’re not above trying a garage door or two either, to see if the building, often used to store the family goods, was left unlocked. These are crimes of opportunity, and they affect not only St. Albert, but every community in Alberta.
It’s surprising how easy it is for some of these criminals to make off with a decent haul. Laptop computers, cash, jewelry, cellphones, tablets, MP3 players, sports equipment, work tools and much more are regularly left in plain sight in vehicles or garages, sometimes the vehicles or buildings even left unlocked. A welcome sight to anyone cruising the streets late at night looking to make some easy money.
Many readers may think that, even if theft from vehicles and buildings takes place, it affects only the vehicle owner or property owner, and the thief (if he or she is ever caught). No one else is harmed or affected. That’s not true. Crime affects the entire community.
Some car owners who lose unsecured property to theft claim the loss under their insurance policies, shrugging their shoulders as if nothing could have been done to prevent it. As insurance companies often remind the public, those losses can be passed along to everyone else in the community in the form of increased premiums to cover the increased claims. That’s a shame, especially when the losses could have been rather easily prevented.
Theft always has another cost on the community as well, and that’s the cost to the legal system to investigate, prosecute and punish offences. Police, Crown prosecutors and judges, not to mention court staff and volunteers, end up spending their time dealing with these crimes. The taxpayer’s dollar is spent handling a certain type of crime that can be prevented by car owners and property owners in very simple ways.
When leaving a car, even in a parking lot in broad daylight, always lock the doors. Put valuables out of sight, especially locked away safely in the trunk. Leaving valuables such as wallets with cash, credit cards and computers in plain sight makes it easier for a thief to target a vehicle.
Homeowners should remember St. Albert may have a small town feel to it sometimes, but it is a city. Keep your garage doors locked and keep in mind that anything a homeowner can see in the garage through windows, a thief passing by on the street or in the alley can see too.
St. Albert RCMP Insp. Kevin Murray suggested local residents get friendly. “Get to know your neighbours,’” he said.
By working together, the community can make St. Albert “crime-proof,” making this a safer community and alleviating strain on our court system.
