It may not seem like anything out of the ordinary: a man, looking rather official in a safety vest, knocking on a door in Calgary’s Canyon Meadows.
A doorbell surveillance video then shows the man linger and peek in windows. Then, joined by a friend, the pair proceed to use a screwdriver to break into the home.
The video is one of three documenting successful break-ins the Calgary Police Service is looking at, with very similar-looking suspects, using almost identical schemes.
“They started in Calgary on the 31st of September,” said Const. Andrew Hughes, who’s been leading the investigation.
“On the 4th of October there was another offence and on the 11th of October there was another offence.”
Then, Wednesday, Hughes saw something else that surprised him.
“I seen on Global TV the Edmonton offence and recognized people similar to what I was investigating in Calgary.”
On Tuesday, a doorbell camera in Edmonton captured a similar story: a man in a vest knocking on the door, a second man approaching and the pair attempting to force their way into the home using a screwdriver.
“Initially I didn’t think anything of it because there are workmen and telecom people in the neighbourhood all the time,” said Edmonton homeowner Clem Ho. “He had a safety vest on it looked like he was wearing work clothes.”
Ho hadn’t used his security system’s talk-back feature before.
“He was on his last attempt to pry the door open and he had struck the door. It opened and I was able to say, ‘Get away from the door.’ They freaked out and in the video you can see them running down the driveway,” said Ho.
Police believe the same men are responsible for all four incidents. In at least two cases, the thieves made off with large amounts of jewelry and cash.
There have also been several other reports Calgary homeowners answered their doors to similar men, who told them they had the wrong address.
Calgary and Edmonton police are now working together on the investigations.
“We’re sharing information on the offences because the offenders are so very similar and the offences are almost exactly the same,” said Hughes.
“We don’t know who they are at this point but we’re confident we will be making arrests in the near future.”
Watch below: A brazen daytime robbery attempt in Edmonton was stopped because of a doorbell camera. Quinn Ohler has the details.