The privacy of some people in Barrie’s east end is being invaded and residents are looking for answers as to why it is happening and how to stop it.
A Ward 1 Facebook group has enough shared experiences of vehicle break-ins and attempts that many are becoming increasingly frustrated with not knowing what else to do to stop them.
Some residents have installed cameras to try to catch suspects, but footage may not be helpful if the thief’s faces are covered.
Jerry Agnello has lived in the same house for 35 years and only started seeing these occurrences only within the last couple years.
“About a year and half ago we started noticing these incidences,” said Agnello. “The last snowfall of the spring, there were footprints right up to the front door where it seems they were looking inside, but before that there were two other things that started our suspicions.
"We put our camera up in June and that’s of course when we were able to see that something was going on.”
Since Agnello’s cameras have gone up he says that there are about five or six attempts and he knows now of so many more in the area because of a Facebook group for the ward.
Agnello says it is a great soundboard for residents to let each other know if it has happened to them, but the main thing is reporting it to police to keep a trace of what happens, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
“You start to see how many of the Ward 1 people are getting hit each night and it is really out of hand for some reason,” said Agnello. “I have been on contact with the police about my incidents and their response is thank you very much, but we can’t ID the suspects, so the case is closed.
"The footage I sent from Saturday was a half-decent picture of the fella at the cars and they said they passed the picture out to all our other local officers and they would look into more frequent patrols in our area," he added. "The suspects look young and I have to wonder if parents could help this by watching out for their kids and seeing what they’re up to each night. Or, even if parents in the area hop on these Facebook pages and if they recognize the culprits, they can do something about it.”
Another resident, Katie Dunlop, has had some expensive items taken from her vehicle and has seen teens bullying her son in a park nearby as well as had pumpkins thrown at her home this past Halloween. She wonders if it kids out late who are the culprits of all these incidents.
“We have lived in Ward 1 for seven years and have had at least two or three car break-ins that we know of,” said Dunlop. “They took our GPS, sunglasses, change and they just messed up the car. I believe another woman I know called the cops when her things got stolen.”
Peter Leon, of Barrie police, told BarrieToday that in the case of thefts from vehicles it is vital that the public share their experiences to police to assist in how local law enforcement can assist in prevention.
“The first incident was reported in mid-August and there was additional information provided to Barrie Police Service in late September and prior to that, there was a similar occurrence reported at the end of June,” said Leon.
“The biggest problem with thefts or attempted thefts from motor vehicles (they are not break and enters) is that in many cases, these are not always reported to police as small change and lesser valued items are usually obtained," he added. "Police are only made aware of these types of occurrences when more valuable items are stolen such as computers or wallets/purses that contain credit cards and valuable information."
Leon said he encourages the public to report these and other incidents no matter what may have be obtained.
"If police don’t know what is happening in a neighbourhood, we won’t know to adjust our patrols accordingly," he said. "Information shared by the public to the police will allow us to work with the neighbourhood or community involved to effectively deal with the issue before it becomes epidemic.”
Leon also noted Barrie police officers were at Georgian Mall today as part of Crime Prevention Week and were checking parked vehicles that may have been left unlocked or where valuables may have not been put into the glove box or storage areas in passenger cars, vans, sport utilities or trucks.
The program is called Lock It or Lose It, and Leon said that the best way of protecting your valuables is the out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude. If it cannot be seen, it can't be sought or wanted by the would-be thief.
“The bottom line is that people must remember that anytime they leave their motor vehicle unattended, they must make sure that it is locked and that personal belongings such as wallets, purses, mobile devices and any other electronics are secured and not left exposed to those wishing to exploit and capitalize on the opportunity that may be present to the criminally minded individual,” said Leon.
“It comes down to simply reducing the elements that are attributed to the possibility of theft, so that opportunistic individuals don’t have a need to look into any parked and unattended motor vehicles."
