me

help drop WV B&Es by 30%

ONE MIGHT think that West
Vancouver, the richest community
in Canada, would be a good mark
for thieves. Not so. According to
the West Vancouver Police
Department, break and enters in
the municipality are taking a
definite drop.

By PEGGY TRENDELL-WHITTAKER
News Reporter

Figures show that the number of
break and enters (B&Es) fell from
526 in 1988 to 369 in 1989 — a
drop of 29.8 per cent. According
to West Van Police Const. Harry
McNeil, the decrease reflects a
combination of good policing and
good crime prevention on the part
of community residents.

“West Vancouver people are
very security-conscious,’’ he noted.
“They’ve learned to grow with
their success, and they've learned
they have to be very security-
minded.... Most of the places are
so well secured here that they are

Thefts
from cars
a growing
concern

THEFTS FROM autos are
on the rise. In North Van-
couver City and District, the
number of cases jumped
from 2,926 in 1988 to 3,256
in 1989, and West Van-
couver Police Const. Harry
McNeil says thefts from
autos are a growing problem
in West Vancouver as well.

Although he says people in West
Vancouver are security-conscious
with their homes, they don’t pay
enough attention to securing their
cars.

He advises drivers to keep
valuables out of sight in the trunk
of the car and be sure to lock up,
“A good alarm system is a good
investment if you've got a nice
stereo system,’’ he also notes.

The North Vancouver RCMP
conduct regular Automark sessions
in the warmer months, in which
participants can have their car
stereos anc other belongings
engiaved for identification. Watch
the North Shore News for advance
notice of the free sessions.

n't let thi
happen to you!

hard to get into."*

In North Vancouver, RCMP
Cpl. Larry Atkinson says that
most B&Es are crimes of opportu-
nity, in which victims have left
doors unlocked or windows ajar.
In West Vancouver, however,
McNeil says ‘‘very few B&Es are
actually from insecure premises.’*

Common methods of entry do
include prying windows, breaking
glass around windéw locks and
jimmying door jocks.

McNeil reports that, besides
good home security, West Van's
community awareness is proving to
be another deterrent to B&Es.
“‘People here have an interest in

their surroundings,’’ he com-
mented. ‘‘They’re very privacy-
oriented.”

Strangers in the neighborhood
dv not go unnoticed, and by call-
ing the police to report a
suspicious character, West Van-
couver residents have at times
helped prevent theft before it is
even attempted.

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17 - Sunday, February 11, 1990 - North Share News

And because people feel secure
in the West Vancouver communi-
ty, McNeil said, they often go out
walking or jogging late at night,
which in turn discourages prowlers
from skulking around the
neighborhood. ‘‘You want to keep
the people outside as much as you
can,’’ he emphasized.

According to McNeil, the West
Vancouver Police Department ha:
found that it better serves thet-
unique West Vancouver communi-
ty by concentrating its energies on
individual casework rather than in &
maintaining programs for marking g

valuables or organizing
neighborhood crime prevention 3
groups.

McNeil crediis Police Chief Hal -
Jenkins for implementing new
programs which are also helping to
decrease crime in the community,
such as the Special Task Force and
the new traffic section. ‘‘The peo-
ple here have really benefited from
the Programs the chicf has brought oy
in,’ concludes McNeil.

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