RCMP Cars 5

Dozens of High River residents have had their vehicles broken into over the past couple nights, where thieves have been stealing everything from wallets to packs of smokes, and even registration.

High River RCMP Staff Sergeant, Robin Alexander, says the thieves seem to be targeting the Montrose and northwest parts of town, but all residents should still take precautionary measures to avoid thefts.

"With the warm weather, we're seeing a lot more activity and foot traffic at night, which means people are wondering around," he says. "And if they see a wallet on the seat, many will just pop open the door and grab it if they can."

He says most of these crimes have happened to people who left valuable items in their vehicles, or didn't lock their doors, and he says many of these thefts could have been avoided.

"Our position of course is that people should lock their cars and take all their valuables out," he says. "It typically is a crime of opportunity and if you're vehicle is open, everything inside is accessible."

He says if you notice any suspicious activity around town, or you have been a victim to a theft, it's critical that you report it to the RCMP.

"We can't respond to or react to a situation that we don't know about," he says. "For example, we have a couple different areas in town that we know have been targeted, so we can take steps to try and mitigate the risks to those places."

He says not only have vehicles been broken into recently, a couple of homes have as well.

So he adds with the weekend coming up, it's important to make sure all your doors and windows are locked, and if you're going out of town, to make sure you let a neighbour know so they can keep an eye out for suspicious activity around your home.

If you have information about this, or any other crime(s), please call the High River RCMP at (403) 652-2357, or if you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or by Internet at www.tipsubmit.com.