Citizens turn to social media in fight against crime
Facebook becomes way for neighbours to keep tabs on suspicious vehicles in area
The moving boxes had scarcely been unpacked when the first break-in happened.
Six months after Deb Kinar moved into a new development in Maple Ridge, a man stole two dirt bikes and two road bikes from her garage.
“We weren’t as safe as we thought,” she said.
A neighbour had video footage of the theft, which Kinar immediately supplied to police.
Six weeks later, she had most of her stolen property back.
The experience prompted Kinar, a former RCMP employee, to begin the Jackson Ridge Block Watch.
The group uses a Facebook page to update members about crime, suspicious activity and stolen property in their subdivision near 100th Avenue and Jackson Road in Maple Ridge.
“We’ve gained a lot of traction over the last two years,” she said. “It has definitely led to results.”
The residents of Jackson Ridge aren’t the only citizens turning to social media to fight crime. Across B.C., official block watch groups — and some unofficial groups — are using Facebook to make their neighbourhoods unwelcoming to criminals.
The practice has benefits, but it’s not without risks, said Gabriel Pelletier, a director with the Block Watch Society of B.C.: “All we can do is encourage our captains to be involved in these pages, to tamp down some of the hype and remind people to report incidents to police.”
The non-profit society, which provides block watch materials and education to participating municipalities and police departments, promotes email as the preferred method of communication between neighbours.
Facebook groups can be difficult to control, particularly when members are able to post unconfirmed accusations against suspected criminals. The spread of misinformation is something the Abbotsford Police Department considered when it started its own block watch Facebook page earlier this year, said Kelly Pater, the APD’s community policing coordinator.
“We haven’t had any negative experiences, but we’re aware that there could be issues,” she explained. “If we see anything that shouldn’t be there, we’re prepared to deal with it.”
Pater co-ordinates 312 block watch communities within Abbotsford, comprising about 11,000 homes. Not all the communities have a Facebook page, but it’s an effective way for neighbours to stay in touch, she said. The program, which began 18 years ago, is picking up speed, with seven new inquiries over the last month.
The emphasis is always on reporting incidents to police, said Joanne Kaminsky, a block watch captain in Abbotsford’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood and the administrator of the group’s Facebook page. “If police don’t know what’s happening, how can they possibly address it?”
Several months ago, Kaminsky was walking her dog when she came across a pair of work boots in the bushes. She snapped a few photos and posted them to her block watch page.
The owner saw the post and was able to recover his stolen property.
“Facebook is an amazing tool,” she said.
The South Otter Block Watch Facebook group isn’t connected with the official block watch program, but it has also been key in the Aldergrove community’s fight against crime, said administrator Doug Anderlini. After a rash of break-ins, residents held a community meeting to make a plan, which included the creation of a Facebook page.
“There would be yard sales on the weekends, and residents would recognize their stolen stuff. But there was nothing we could do if we didn’t have the serial numbers written down,” explained Anderlini.
The Facebook page became a way for neighbours to keep tabs on suspicious vehicles trolling the streets late at night. “We stayed within the law, but we took away their anonymity. We made it hard for them to stay,” said Anderlini.
Florence Fowler, crime prevention program coordinator with the Langley RCMP, couldn’t comment on the unofficial block watch group, but she said part of the reason block watch works is because it provides a way for residents to get to know their neighbours.
“People are busy, people move in and move out, but with this program you get to know who belongs in your neighbourhood and who may be there for another reason,” she said.
The Vedder Block Watch Facebook group was also instrumental in helping to curb suspicious activity in Chilliwack, said administrator Steve Vanlaerhoven. While the group of 320 members isn’t officially connected with the Chilliwack RCMP, members sometimes supply police with information about stolen property they’ve found stashed in the bushes or call the pawnshop to report missing goods.