Lethbridge sees dramatic rise in theft; residents fed up

Residents across Lethbridge believe they’ve seen an increase in property crimes including theft in their neighbourhoods and they need to stop.

“I’m just getting to the point where things need to change,” Vanessa Ganger said.

“We need to feel safe.”

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Lori Friesen is on a neighbourhood association and says the number of vehicles and yards being broken into is alarming.

“It puts a little fear into you because you can’t leave anything out,” Friesen said.

“You’ve got to pretty much nail it down and even if it is, they’ll get it.”

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Executive officer with the Lethbridge Police Service, Kristen Harding, says theft numbers have risen quite dramatically in the last year.

“Locally we’ve seen about a 20 per cent increase in theft,” Harding said. “It’s quite significant.”

The increase is also being discussed more online, with residents posting on social media about items being stolen from their vehicles and yards.

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Many are at a loss for what to do next. Some said a bigger police presence is needed.

“We can get a neighbourhood watch going maybe in our neighbourhood,” Friesen said. “But, it really would be nice to see a lot more presence of the police in the neighbourhood.”

Others said residents themselves need to take more initiative.

“It seems to be a general consensus in my community anyways, where if bottles go missing or something small like bikes, nobody is reporting it,” Savannah Fisher said. “Either they think nobody is going to show up or they think, ‘Why bother? It’s just something small.'”

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Police want the public to know that whatever the item or concern is, they would like to hear about it.

“We want to know where these crimes are occurring in the city because it helps with intelligence and developing deployment strategies,” Harding said.

“But, we also want people to know that we are here to help them and that we do want them to report.”

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Police said locking vehicles and removing valuables, as well as installing motion lights on your home, can be extremely effective at deterring would-be thieves.

Although they may only be petty property crimes, residents agree enough is enough.

“It scares people and we have a great neighbourhood,” Friesen said. “It’s just unfortunate that these things continue to happen.”