Don’t Be A Property Crime Victim

Crime Prevention Tips

Charlottetown Police Services are providing suggestions to reduce your odds of becoming a victim of property crime.

Theft from vehicles – The vast majority of thefts from vehicles that occur in the City of Charlottetown require no forced entry. Theft from vehicles is a crime of opportunity. Thieves will target vehicles that are left unlocked.

A recent trend is thieves stealing purses and wallets from vehicles and using credit/debit cards that have tap features enabled.  This trend could easily be eliminated if people did not leave their wallets and purses inside their vehicles.  Most of these thefts occur from vehicles that are NOT locked. By simply not leaving these items in your vehicle and keeping the doors locked, using stolen credit/debit cards would be virtually eliminated. Two tips:

• Remove valuable from your vehicle
• Lock your doors

Theft from sheds – Sheds also get targeted by thieves who tend to steal items like power tools, chainsaws, whipper  snippers, and sporting items such snow boards and bicycles.

Unlike theft from vehicles, thieves will use force to gain entry in many cases.  Thieve will carry bolt cutters and pry bars to help them gain entry.  As such, Police suggest more time be spent by home owners to re-enforce the sheds.  Some tips include:

• Sufficient lighting at nigh time.
• Re-enforce windows and door frames
• Purchase shrouded shackle padlocks. Although more expensive to purchase, these are designed to be more difficult to cut and breach.
• Itemize your personal property – Record the make, model and serial numbers of your items.