A rash of thefts in Penticton and the surrounding area has the Penticton RCMP warning the public to secure their property.
Trailers, snowmobiles, vehicles and ATVs are just a few of the items that have gone missing in the last few months.
“There has been a noticeable increase in this last little while throughout the region,” said Sgt. Rick Dellebuur.
The incidents are occurring throughout the area including Oliver, Osoyoos and Keremeos according to Dellebuur.
“We’re aware of it and we’re certainly looking at ways of combatting it,” Dellebuur said.
He said the best way to fight the thefts is to make sure property is secured. Dellebuur himself has been effected by the wave of thefts.
“I reside in O.K. Falls and over the weekend they hit our mailbox,” Dellebuur said.
“We certainly have some leads, we’re certainly working on it and we’re hopeful that in the next few weeks we’re going to be able to stem the tide of this, but at the same time we need the cooperation of the public.”
He said part of that cooperation includes reporting any suspicious activity.
There have been a number of incidents involving perpetrators hooking up to trailers and driving off.
“We’ve had that, we’ve had mailbox thefts and I think we’re starting to feel that a lot of it is related, it’s the same bunch that are just out stealing, for lack of a better term,” Dellebuur said. “Some of the stuff they are taking, they are just taking it and wrecking it and burning it and stuff like that. So it’s one of these things we can’t always make sense of.”
Making sure vehicles are removed of all valuables is another preventative measure the RCMP is recommending.
“What we tell people is that you leave two toonies or two loonies on your console, they will do $200 damage just to get those two loonies,” Dellebuur said.