People living in River Heights are being advised to secure their outdoor furniture and accessories, after a spree of thefts in the area.
Melissa Gillespie and her partner Nelly had just assembled a brand new furniture set in their backyard on Oxford Street Thursday. After leaving the house for fifteen minutes just before 10 a.m., the two returned home to find their patio set had been stolen.
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“Chances are someone was watching as we got into the vehicle and left, and quickly drove in and grabbed everything,” Gillespie said. “It’s beyond unsettling.”
The couple had recently moved to the area in February, and were shocked their patio furniture wasn’t safe in their own back yard in broad daylight.
“It’s hard, you don’t feel safe in your own home anymore.”
This outdoor theft isn’t isolated in the River Heights area. Recently a ping pong table had been stolen from someone’s yard, according to a River Heights Facebook group administrator.
“It’s a little bit bizarre, and a little bit frightening than what has been going on in the past,” Smashed Window Club-River Heights administrator, Jon Waldman said.
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Normally the Facebook group sees reports of vehicle break-ins or bike thefts, said Waldman. This is the first year there have been consistent reports of outdoor yard items being taken, he said.
“This is something we consider not just a River Heights problem, it’s a problem across Winnipeg.”
Waldman said he is working with community members, and other Facebook groups to create community watch programs, to crack down on backyard crimes.
“We want to make sure this is happening across the city, that other groups are forming, and other individuals are stepping up and saying this is enough,” he said.
Waldman said he is also working with police to get more officers patrolling residential areas.
In the meantime Gillespie said she will be fastening her next patio set to a concrete block or a wooden fence. Something she is asking other home owners to consider with summer on the way.
“Sadly maybe that’s the world we live in now,” she said.