Victoria police are reporting an increase in thefts of sunglasses and GPS devices from vehicles parked downtown.
Items like loose change and iPods had previously been favoured by thieves, said Victoria police spokesman Bowen Osoko, but there has been a shift: “The M.O. has changed.”
In the past two weeks, incidents have gone from “smash-and-grabs” to break-ins with no sign of forced entry, Osoko said.
Police believe that could mean a pry tool such as a “slim-jim” is being used.
A few simple steps can discourage a vehicle break-in, said Const. Rachel Bourne of the department’s focused-enforcement team.
“It’s important that when parking their cars, people either make sure these items are tucked out of sight or, better yet, taken with them,” she said.
A number of recent thefts have taken place at city parkades, but police said it was too early to tell whether the parkades are being targeted.
Victoria police also warned of a spate of thefts from vehicles in late January.
The hardest-hit areas then were around Vancouver Street-Rockland Avenue and Esquimalt Road-Lampson Street.
