Lock your cars and don’t leave wallets or computers in your vehicles.
Property theft from parked motor vehicles continue to be committed in rural and residential areas all throughout the Central Okanagan, which includes Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country. Residents should be mindful that no one neighbourhood is fully immune to this crime of opportunity.
“RCMP throughout the Kelowna Regional Detachment area continue to find that the vast majority of the vehicles targeted by property thieves, were all types and sizes of motor vehicles, that had one thing in common… their doors were left insecure,” said RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey.
“The few cases where auto glass was smashed, or exterior locks were damaged by suspects, was when vehicle owners left valuable property in plain sight.”
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The most common items stolen from vehicles include wallets and purses, credit or debit cards, personal identification including driver’s licenses, passport documents or medical care cards, power tools, golf clubs and accessories, house and/or automotive keys, cash including loose change, expensive clothing items and personal accessories, such as sunglasses.
“Often times those victims who leave their wallets, containing debit and credit cards and personal identification inside their vehicle, also become victims of fraud,” said O’Donaghey. “In many of these cases, criminals will have racked up multiple charges using the stolen cards tap feature, before the victim discovers their cards are even missing.”
If you see any suspicious persons or activities near your vehicle or in your neighborhood, you are encouraged to call your local police immediately. RCMP also ask that vehicle owners contact police as soon as they discover a break-in has been committed to their vehicle.
RCMP would like to remind the public that 911 is for emergency situations only and should only be used when someone’s life is in danger, there is an immediate threat to someone’s safety or when there is a crime in progress.
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