Suspected car thieves nabbed

Eleven suspected car thieves were arrested and 11 stolen vehicles recovered during a three-week sting targeting prolific offenders.

The Kelowna RCMP and the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT) put out bait cars and followed up leads.

On July 23, two people were arrested after a dump truck was stolen.

Tasha Dawn Smith and Daniel Frank Briggs, both 40, were charged with possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance.

On the same day, in a separate incident, three youths, who can’t be named, were arrested when police tracked them down in a stolen car.

On July 25, Lenny James Lipscombe, 19, of Kelowna was arrested in a stolen car and charged with possession of stolen property and two counts of breach of probation. In total, Lipscombe faces 10 charges related to this most recent, and other, incidents.

Two others were arrested in stolen vehicles, but charges haven’t been laid in those cases yet.

“Partnerships such as these are essential in reducing crime and efficiently and effectively targeting those offenders responsible for significant numbers of vehicle thefts,” said Kelowna street enforcement unit Sgt. Alex Lynch.

“Several of the offenders arrested during this initiative were responsible for multiple thefts in the area.”

While arrests, charges and convictions help reduce auto crime, the best tool is in every citizen’s hand — prevention.

“The majority of auto crime is the result of insecure vehicles,” said Insp. Brian MacDonald of IMPACT, the team established by the province, ICBC, RCMP and municipal police departments.

“Keys left in the vehicle, valuables left in plain view and the lack of anti-theft devices contribute to high crime rates.”