Calgary Herald

Rise in vehicle theft, break-ins fuelled by drug trade, police say

- YOLANDE COLE ycole@postmedia.com

A potent and profitable drug trade is driving a spike in car thefts in Calgary, with the stolen vehicles frequently being used to commit other crimes.

Calgary police say methamphet­amine, heroin and fentanyl are both addictive and expensive — a dangerous combinatio­n driving criminals addicted to drugs or associated with the drug trade to desperate lengths.

“What we’re seeing more of is crimes associated to meth, associated to heroin and fentanyl, those types of drugs that have a large profit margin and obviously are powerfully addictive drugs that are playing a role in the overall crime that’s happening in our city,” said Insp. Mike Bossley with the Investigat­ive Operations section.

In 2015 and 2016, there was a “dramatic increase” in the number of both residentia­l and commercial break-and-enters, although the past few months have seen a downward trend, according to Bossley.

He said police are seeing stolen vehicles being used in other crimes.

When vehicles are recovered, they are being found with stolen credit cards and property from multiple house break-and-enters.

The types of people committing these crimes tend to be “prolific offenders” who are in and out of the legal system, Bossley added.

“They get involved in things that are highly dangerous for not only the public, but also the police to deal with due to their drug addictions,” he said.

Police are urging Calgarians to ensure they keep their homes and cars locked to help prevent theft.

“One of the things we’re seeing (as) a common trend is individual­s who are simply doing car prowlings, ultimately gaining access to vehicles and then garage door openers, which now provides access to a residence, and/or access to potentiall­y a motor vehicle inside the garage,” said Bossley.

According to police, more than 100 incidents of acquisitiv­e crime such as car thefts and break and enters were recorded in September.

In the same month, officers made more than 80 seizures of methamphet­amine, opioids and heroin.

Police crime statistics indicate that in September, vehicle thefts increased by 19 per cent compared to September 2015, while the number of break and enters went up by 3.6 per cent.

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