Like most people this time of year, Lisa Compson loves spending time on her patio, but this week, there’s nowhere to sit.
Last Wednesday night in the community of Douglasdale, her patio furniture was stolen while she and her family slept upstairs.
“Our windows were open, and we didn’t hear them. Just the fact that they were so close to our kids,” said Compson.
“It was gone, it took a while to comprehend I guess, that someone would steal something like that. Just never thought it would ever go missing,” she said.
The stolen items weren’t light weight lawn chairs – Compson suspects someone knew exactly what they wanted.
“They were brown swivel wicker chairs, so they were heavy. They were really heavy, they must have had a truck.”
Compson now plans on investing in surveillance cameras for her home.
According to the company Secure Video Surveillance Inc., more people are using security cameras as a deterrent. The company has custom installed hundreds of homes with cameras this year alone.
“You want to get something that’s high definition, that’s good quality, fairly high megapixels so you can zoom in on stuff. Make sure it has a time stamp,” said the company’s owner Loukas Savropoulos.
He said HD technology is making it easier to identify vehicles and suspects.
Compson wishes she didn’t have to take extra security measures.
“That’s more money now that we have to spend, but it makes ourselves feel better about where we live. You shouldn’t have to do that.”
Compson has posted the crime to her Facebook community page, warning others. Residents in the area commented about items being stolen from their front yard, including trailer batteries.
A Calgary police officer commented on the Facebook post saying there were two cases of patio furniture being stolen that day.
Compson has also reported the theft to police.