Thompson RCMP are encouraging civilians to be vigilant when it comes to taking precautions against theft.
After a rash of car thefts occurred in the city lately, with at least three during the week of May 10-16, Sgt. Rob Collen of the Thompson RCMP says the city is experiencing more car thefts than usual.
"I wouldn't say this is normal by any stretch. There's been a surge in stolen vehicles lately and one consistent thing we've been seeing is vehicles being left unlocked and the keys being readily available."
Collen says this has led the RCMP to believe the thefts are crimes of opportunity as well as pattern behaviour, with certain individuals being consistently involved.
One of these individuals, he says, is a child under 12-years-old. This creates a difficult situation, since they cannot, due to their age, be criminally charged and no criminal sanctions can be levied against them. However, Collen says there are justice programs for children under 12 and other opportunities via agencies like Child and Family Services.
The most common pattern the RCMP have been seeing in car thefts in Thompson is local joyriding, where suspects steal cars and abandon them in another area of town, oftentimes damaged.
"We have to look at each case individually as they come in and what the circumstances are," he says. "In many cases the suspect is known to the owner of the vehicle. Some diligence can amount to avoiding being victimized."
It's not just car thefts that seem to be increasing in Thompson. Danny Morris, owner of Mystery Lake Auto and Body Shop located at 60 Nelson Rd., had three cars in his lot - all owned by customers who had the vehicles in for servicing or repairs - vandalized with their windows smashed in the evening of May 9. It was part of a vandalism spree that targeted 30 vehicles in total that night.
According to Morris, this is a usual occurrence every summer, but it's gotten worse in recent years, owing to the fact that, in his opinion, there are more gangs in Thompson and more youth wandering around with nothing to do.
"I'd like to see these people get caught. It's not fair to my customers to have to pay their deductible through Autopac for broken glass," Morris says.
He also points out that he's not sure if the answer is a higher RCMP presence or more bylaw officers. When he was told that Prairie Bylaw Enforcement is pulling out of Thompson come September, Morris didn't seem overly alarmed.
"I don't think the bylaw officers are doing anything for us anyway. They're basically cleaning up drunkenness in the downtown, but they're giving tickets to people who can't pay them anyway."
Morris says that it seems to him no one is patrolling the area of the city his business is located in.
