Woodland Drive residents are stepping up to keep an eye out after a couple of quads were stolen and attempts were made to steal a few more and a pick-up truck from the neighbourhood.
“It’s really unfortunate,” resident Martin Sills says. “Crime in the city is a big concern. On Woodland we’re lulled into a safe sense of security because of the privacy. It’s a dead-end street so thieves normally avoid something like that because if they get stuck in there, they’ve got no place to run.”
As a result of what he describes as a “rash” of incidents a neighbourhood watch has been resurrected.
“We have a group more specific to our water and sewer issue. Woodland Drive is all well-connected. We all have distribution lists so we can contact all of the neighbours with a couple key strokes.”
People are reporting to neighbours any strange vehicles and their descriptions, licence plate numbers, or if somebody is driving around late at night.
“We are quite used to our own vehicles,” Sills says, explaining neighbours recognize each other and their vehicles.
“We know all the people that come around and walk their dogs. We’ve become very vigilant in terms of reporting to all the neighbours and to the RCMP anything that is a little strange.”
The residents are also vamping up personal security by acquiring security systems if they don’t have them and making sure to set their alarms if they do.
The focus, Sills explains, is to drive thieves out, or better yet, catch them.
“We want to stop this in its tracks. By sharing on the Internet everyone is made aware of what to look for immediately.”
Williams Lake RCMP Insp. Warren Brown says police are aware of a few recent hot spots in Williams Lake where they have seen an increase in property crimes related to theft of and theft from vehicles.
“Police are aware of a few individuals in the community who are persons of interest and will be making diligent and focused efforts to thwart and deter their continued determination in committing these criminal offences,” Brown says and reminds citizens not to turn a blind eye when they observe suspicious behaviour, but rather report it to the police.
Brown also reminds citizens not to leave valuable possessions in plain view in a vehicle.