Thirty-one break-and-enters in the past two weeks have Nanaimo RCMP warning people to lock their doors and windows.
A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a number of the break-and-enters, but police believe others are also involved.
At least three of the crimes happened when residents were at home, something that is disconcerting to police, said Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien.
“It’s the worst-case scenario,” he said, adding that the experience can be very traumatizing for the residents.
On Oct. 2, a 40-year-old woman living on First Street woke up from a nap when she heard her back door being opened about 11:30 a.m.
When she went to check on the noise, she came face-to-face with a man going through her wallet.
“She screamed so loud her neighbours came over running,” O’Brien said. The intruder fled on a bicycle.
Two days earlier, a 77-year-old Honey Drive resident was roused from sleep by noise just after midnight. She walked into the kitchen and encountered a strange male, who yelled at her to give him money. The man left when the woman’s medical-alert system went off, but not before grabbing some chicken from the refrigerator.
In another case, residents of Lignite Place realized that someone had been inside their home overnight, likely entering through a window. A purse, laptops and keys were missing.
The First Street resident described the intruder as a white male in his late teens or early 20s, five-foot-eight with a thin build, and wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants. The Honey Drive intruder had the lower part of his face covered with a dark handkerchief and wearing a dark tuque, a dark hoodie and dark pants.
O’Brien said such clusters of break-and-enters happen from time to time. In the same period in 2015, there were 46 break-and-enters, he said.
“There’s a number of factors,” he said. “One is who’s moving into our community, who got out of jail.”
O’Brien said police are in close contact with parole officers and keep track of people coming through the system.
Most break-and-enters — 75 to 80 per cent — happen during daylight hours. In about 40 per cent, entry is through an unlocked door or window, O’Brien said. He said people often forget to lock the side door of their garage or the door leading from the garage to the home.
O’Brien urged anyone who sees anything unusual in their neighbourhoods to contact police. “Call us,” he said. “Don’t feel embarrassed. It might be nothing, it might be something.”
Nanaimo RCMP ask anyone with information on the break-ins to call them at 250-754-2345. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), going to nanaimocrimestoppers.com, or texting 274637 using the keyword “Nanaimo.”
