RCMP are reminding homeowners and drivers in the Okanagan to lock their doors, after a number of recent thefts were caught on camera.
Kelowna, B.C., resident Erica Krauseneck watched in real-time as a woman was caught by her neighbour allegedly snooping around her home.
“My neighbour on the left spoke out to the woman and asked if we were expecting her. She mumbled some responses then got scared off, then my neighbour came and grabbed our Amazon delivery,” said Krauseneck.
Krausenck wasn’t home at the time but was able to watch it unfold through her doorbell camera.
“To see it happen like that is definitely unnerving. I’m happy we have the doorbell cameras,” said Krauseneck.
A West Kelowna resident, while also grateful for home cameras, wasn’t so lucky.
Last week, a suspected thief broke into Suzanne Casavant’s vehicle, where they found her garage opener and stole thousands of dollars worth of property, including two E-bikes from the garage.
“We try to lock our vehicles every night and we are pretty diligent with that but obviously they don’t just check randomly, they check often. We’ve had it happen to our son’s vehicle here before,” said Casavant.
According to the RCMP, there are tendencies thieves have that people should be aware of.
“We do notice that a lot of times thieves take the time to see whether or not there is video surveillance in the area, whether or not there is good lightning in the area,” said Const. Patti Evans, Summerland RCMP.
“They tend to target vehicles that are in darker parking lots or darker driveways.”