By Paige Dillman, NSCC Journalism student interning at The Laker News
ENFIELD: Multiple residents in an Enfield subdivision have reported thefts from their vehicles.
Staff Sgt. Michael Balmaceda, with East Hants RCMP, told The Laker News that these incidents are still under investigation.
However, even when closed, the investigation will be reopened if new information comes up.
When these incidents were compared year to date, there were about 15% more thefts from motor vehicles this year than last.
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S/Sgt. Balmaceda says it’s difficult to say if this is a trend, especially due to the sample size of the data being so small.
“With investigations like these, there are often two challenges that make it difficult to catch these culprits,” said S/Sgt. Balmaceda.
“In most cases, the thefts happen at night while people are sleeping.”
This means that there are no eyewitnesses, and the amount of time that has lapsed lets the thieves get away.
In many theft cases, people do not report it because they may not even be aware that someone has broken in or that something was taken.
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S/Sgt. Balmaceda says that there is certainly an association between population and crime.
When you see a population increase, crime usually increases as well.
However, like before, you need a larger dataset to see if this is a trend statistically.
S/Sgt. Balmaceda says he anticipates this could be a rising trend, due to the growing population in the area.
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To help keep your cars and belongings safe, there are a few things you can do.
- Lock your car doors
- Call if you see anyone suspicious in your neighbourhood
- Getting motion sensor lights, which will attract attention to the movement on your property.
- Motion sensing cameras, which can be set up to your phone so you can see movement on your property.
Residents can also help out by sharing any footage with Police.
East Hants RCMP have started to use Digital Evidence Management Technology that makes it simple to give videos and photos too.
