Probe complete

No charges laid following allegations of missing money

No charges will be laid after an RCMP investigation into allegations of missing money from the Baddeck courthouse last year.

Dal Hutchinson, spokesperson for the RCMP, confirmed the investigation — led by the Victoria County District RCMP — was concluded around Feb. 21.

“Given that no charges were laid I would not be able to discuss any details of the investigation,” said Hutchinson in an email statement last week.

The investigation began on Sept. 12 after $900 was reported missing from the courthouse on Chebucto Street.

Staff believed cash went missing from a daily deposit located inside the building, which was to have been taken to the bank.

The Baddeck facility was constructed in the 1880s, long before security cameras and alarm systems had been invented.

Since the incident, the Municipality of Victoria County installed a camera that records the comings and goings at the building’s main doors, as well as the financial interactions at the tax office window. An alarm system protects the entire building.

In an interview with the Cape Breton Post in March, Warden Bruce Morrison said the installation of the alarm system brings the building up to the same standard as most buildings today.

“(Baddeck) is a pretty safe community to live in and this type of thing (the missing money) is not very common,” said Morrison. “Unfortunately, it happened at this location this time, but as a result we’ve made some of those changes that will prevent it from happening again.”