Identity theft, fraud could affect 400 Calgarians after officer’s car burglarized

Watch above: Calgary Police are on the hunt for five notebooks that contain personal information of up to 400 people, which were stolen from an officer’s vehicle. Tracy Nagai reports.

CALGARY – Calgary police are appealing to the public for a second time in the case of an off-duty officer whose rifle was stolen after his car was broken into on April 4. While the rifle has been recovered, notebooks that could contain personal information of up to 400 Calgarians are still missing.

The officer’s car was parked in a lot in the 100 block of Crowfoot Terrace N.W. and was the victim of a prowling. Police initially reported a patrol rifle case and its contents had been taken. That included the military-style Colt C8 semi-automatic carbine as well as two ammunition clips containing 56 bullets, which have since been recovered.

READ MORE: Should Calgary police officers be allowed to take their weapons home?

Now, police are looking for help to recover five service-issued notebooks also stolen from the car. The notebooks contain details of the officer’s on-duty interactions with the public.

Calgary police spokesperson Kevin Brookwell said it was an “investigative decision” that caused police to refrain from releasing details that the notebooks had gone missing when the stolen rifle first came to light. He said keeping back that information helped lead to the recovery of the rifle, but couldn’t provide details.

Brookwell said it’s not uncommon for officers to have notebooks with them, particularly if an officer has a court case coming up that he or she needs to review. He said in this case, the reason why the officer had books from a year ago in his possession was still being determined.

“An all-person memo went out to everyone in the service, specifically reminding them of…expectations to prevent this from happening,” said Brookwell. “These types of items need to be secured.”

The officer remains under a 30-day suspension with pay until May 15; his case will then be reviewed by an executive committee.

Police are “working to determine” what kind of information was in the notebooks, and are notifying between 350 to 400 people regarding a possible breach of their personal information via a letter in the “coming weeks.”

The information could include the following:

• Dates of birth
• Home addresses
• Driver’s licence numbers
• Other personal information

Anyone who receives a letter that their information may have been breached is asked to review their credit report regularly, monitor their mail for credit card statements or other bills that come in their name but that they didn’t apply for, and check credit and debit card statements for any suspicious activity. Police urge anyone affected to report suspected fraudulent activity to their bank.

READ MORE: Calgary police recover off-duty officer’s stolen rifle

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta has been notified.

Police are asking anyone with information about where the notebooks are to contact police at 403-266-1234.