Residents of a West Kelowna neighborhood hope that surveillance video can help calm a wave of property crime that’s been plaguing their street for some time.
“This is a problem, it’s a big problem in Shannon Lake,” resident Mike Young said. “This isn’t the first thing that’s happened here.”
Young woke up Saturday morning to discover hundreds of dollars’ worth of property, including power tools and a Samsung tablet, had been stolen from his truck.
“Probably $2,500 to $3,000 worth of stuff,” Young said.
Young said he normally locks the doors to his truck but forgot this time. And he paid the price.
That same night, Renata Bossini, Young’s neighbor, caught a suspect on her surveillance camera trying to break into cars on her driveway and gain entry to her home.
The video shows the man approaching her front door and looking through a window. The suspect then tried the door handle before walking away.
“That is really scary because I live here with my daughter,” she said. “You don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night with someone in your house.”
The break-in attempt has disturbed homeowners and their neighbours.
“You have females living next door and what happens if the door was open,” Young said. “What could have happened if he got in, so there’s one thing losing property and there’s a whole other thing when people’s safety is called into question.”
Young told Global News that almost every homeowner on his cul-de-sac has had something stolen in the past couple of years.
The RCMP hope that surveillance footage and tips from the public help with the investigation.
They also urged the public to always report any suspicious activity in their neighbourhood.
“A lot of that information is compiled and analyzed by our crime analysts who then provide us with some direction on areas where these thefts are occurring the most, ” Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey said. “We will alter or tailor our patrols in those areas.”
In the meantime, Young is doing what he can to help track down the suspect.
He’s posted the surveillance footage on Facebook, video that’s already been shared by hundreds of people.
“It’s been a great response form the public,” he said. “There’s been a lot of tips coming from it.”
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