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Thefts prompt RCMP to hold forum Sunday

Erris Fire Department takes leadership role in bringing community together
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A series of break and enters on Princeton Summerland Road has prompted the RCMP to plan a community forum to help residents protect their homes.

“It’s a local meeting with ideas on how to protect your property,” said Corporal Chad Parsons.

Rural break-ins are not unusual, he said, especially in the fall and winter months.

“Usually it’s places that have been used for the summer and then locked up.”

So far tools, and fishing and hunting equipment has been stolen from area homes, he said.

Thieves are also on the look out for expensive gadgets that are portable and easily sold.

“Chains saws, air compressors, those are the kinds of things that are commonly stolen…Typically those rural properties will have that stuff in the cabins because they need it out there.”

Parsons said police recommend homeowners secure these kinds of items in locked steal boxes.

To lessen the risk of theft of bigger ticket items, like ATVs, Parsons said they should be chained and he also recommended owners purchase a GPS tracker that can be hidden in a vehicle.

“They will know immediately when it starts moving. It will send a message to their phone.”

Security alarms are helpful, he said, but they must be concealed or experienced thieves will disable them. Trail cameras in strategic locations have led police to culprits in the past, he added.

“There are lots of people who have those. If something happens they at least give us an idea of who is doing it.”

The most important thing to remember about crime prevention is to call police when anything looks suspicious, said Parsons.

“We depend on people to call us,” he said.

“The only time we would not show up to a report of a suspicious person is if we were tied up with something else like a serious motor vehicle accident.

“Whenever people call us we always go out, even if we don’t get there right away.”

The community meeting is being held Sunday October 15 at the Erris Fire Hall at 1 p.m.

A free barbecue lunch and fire hall tour – sponsored by the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen - precedes the meeting beginning at 11 a.m. and all are welcome.



Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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