VicPD say theft from vehicles is on the rise. Photo courtesy CBC.
Victoria police are warning the public that there has been an increase in vehicle break-ins, especially in parkades.
The department said in 2016, there were 158 thefts from vehicles in the downtown core, with 32 of the break-ins happening in parkades. In 2017, the number of break-ins in the downtown core was 441. Police said 241 of those were in various parkades.
“In total, there has been a 25 per cent increase in thefts from vehicles throughout Victoria and Esquimalt. The majority of the thefts involved items that were left in plain view in a vehicle,” VicPD said in a release.
According to police, the break-ins occurred in private and City of Victoria parkades.
Officers are still patrolling parkades. Reserve constables and volunteers are also taking part in the Lock-Out Auto Crime (LOAC) program. If the volunteers see money, cellphones, laptops or other electronics in plain view, or presents and gifts, they will put a notice on the vehicle reminding the driver how to reduce the chance of theft.
Anyone whose vehicle has been broken into is ask to call VicPD at 250-995-7654 or report it online at http://vicpd.ca/reportcrimeonline.
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