SUMMERTIME CRIME
More victims turning to social media in hopes of getting property returned
Jason Dirk’s shiny motorcycle has gone missing, and he’s turned to social media to get it back. He’s one of many victims of property crime, writes Valerie Fortney.
He’s never been a victim of a property crime in his life. Still, there’s a first time for everything and in Jason Dirk’s case, it happened to be this past July 13.
While the Medicine Hat oilfield consultant was away with his family on a camping trip, his backyard was broken into.
Thieves took off in the night with his large utility trailer, which stored his two prized motorcycles.
Dirk called the police, who in turn also advised him to use social media in an attempt to track down his stolen property.
“Someone on Facebook said they think they saw the trailer in Ontario, but it could have been one just like it,” he says of his still-missing possessions.
Dirk is just one of a growing number of Albertans finding out that if their possessions aren’t bolted to the ground — and we’re talking in some cases, pretty big items — then they’re potential targets for thieves. He’s also part of a burgeoning trend for victims to turn to social media in hopes of getting their property returned.
Along with Dirk’s social media plea, on Tuesday I was able to find, with the help of a Herald colleague, a slew of posts from victims looking to locate their van adorned with images of beavers and burning firewood (the 1st Airdrie Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Vents). A man from the east-central Alberta town of Bonnyville did get his 32-foot RV back after he posted a plea on Facebook, but it was trashed.
It’s enough to make one paranoid — but it isn’t being paranoid if they are out to get you, or at least get your stuff.
From the rural corners of the province to the largest urban centres, Alberta is in the midst of what RCMP and municipal police forces agree is a property crime epidemic.
A combination of a severe economic downturn and the opioid crisis has created what Calgary police Chief Roger Chaffin recently described as an alarming jump in break-andenters and vehicle thefts over the past two years, “related to the increase in drugs.”
In Calgary, police formed the prolific offender engagement team to identify offenders committing such crimes on a regular basis; Vancouver — yes, it’s not just an Alberta epidemic — recently introduced the firstin-Canada, citywide “predictive policing” system using machine learning to predict where break-ins will occur before they happen.
According to Sgt. Sean Gregson of the Calgary Police Service’s centralized break-andenter team, a good number of those committing such offences are familiar faces.
“It’s frustrating,” he says of the small but busy group of prolific offenders in town, many of them with drug addiction issues. “The property crime offenders aren’t spending a lot of time behind bars. As soon as they’re out they’ve back at it.”
With only 16 officers working on the centralized team in a city of nearly 1.3 million, Gregson says it’s up to the public to do their part to be mindful of habits during the summer — a prime time for property theft, thanks to warmer weather and people being away on vacation.
“Garage doors are big this time of year, a lot of people forget to close them when they’re working in the yard, while others leave their windows open,” he says. “If you’re away, you should have timers in your lights, ensure someone is watching your house.”
Technological advancements, he says, have been good and bad. “More people are using CCTV cameras,” which can help identify the perpetrators. “But many are posting their vacation pics to social media while still on vacation, letting everyone know they aren’t home.”
Still, aside from “chaining my trailer to my house,” Jason Dirk isn’t sure what he’d do differently.
“You kind of feel for people who are so desperate they turn to stealing other people’s stuff,” says Dirk, who still holds out hope for getting his trailer and motorcycles back. “When it happens to you, though, it’s pretty shocking and upsetting.”