Under the “Lock It or Lose It” initiative, OPP officers throughout Rainy River District are spreading the message that the public should lock their vehicles, and lock up their bikes, to help prevent increasingly-common thefts.
In Fort Frances, OPP officers, with a helping hand from summer student Dayton Brown, are targeting the entire community looking for unlocked vehicles, vehicles with valuables visible inside, and unlocked bikes, Cst. Doug Irish said in an interview Friday.
“We divided the community up into zones. They started yesterday [Thursday],” he noted. “Downtown’s one whole section, and then we have the large parking lots in the west end, like Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, all your large ones.”
“Lock It or Lose It” information stickers will be placed on motor vehicles or bikes that are found or suspected to be at risk, explained Cst. Irish, adding that because of electronic vehicle alarms, officers will not actually be trying door locks.
But Cst. Irish noted they will be looking into vehicles to see if “enticing” valuables, like purses and cell phones, are visible. If such items have to be left in vehicles, they should at least be hidden.
“These are crimes of opportunity, and for the most part, preventable,” he remarked. “By locking these items, you take away the opportunity.”
Officers also will be doing residential checks, where they’ll be focusing on open/unlocked garages and sheds, as well as unlocked vehicles and bikes left out in the open which easily could be stolen.
While some people may be warned by police, those observed using bike locks will be rewarded with a red, flashing safety lamp that looks like a bike reflector.
While the “Lock It or Lose It” campaign has been done here before, Cst. Irish explained that increasing numbers of thefts has prompted the detachment to re-emphasize the message to the public.
So far in 2007, there’s been 35 reported bike thefts and nine thefts from motor vehicles in town.
In 2006, there were 82 bike thefts, and police sold 46 bikes at the detachment auction (indicating these were bikes that had gone missing, were found, but never claimed).
There also were 50 thefts from motor vehicles.
And in 2005, there was a total of 85 bike thefts (with 70 bikes sold at the police auction) and 40 thefts from motor vehicles.
Brown, a 17-year-old Fort Frances High School student, is one of five students in Northwestern Ontario hired under the Ministry of Children and Youth Services’ “Youth in Policing Initiative.”
Starting last Thursday, Brown has been patrolling the town, accompanied by an OPP constable or a cadet, looking for unlocked vehicles and bike owners who haven’t locked up their rides.
“We gave out a few [stickers] but it was less than I thought,” Brown said about his first day on patrol.
The purpose of the “Youth In Policing Initiative” is to promote youth participation and exposure to the police work environment through diverse, educational, and productive work assignments with the OPP.
While it’s too early to say whether Brown wants to pursue a career on the police force, he said he’s looking forward to working with OPP officers for the summer.
Brown will be working with the OPP until the end of August, when he goes back to Fort High for Grade 12.
Cst. Irish noted while officers across the entire Rainy River District are promoting the “Lock It or Lose It” program, only in Fort Frances do they have a summer student who has made it their main job.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
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