Fed up after hearing multiple reports from neighbours affected by property crime recently – with stolen items ranging from a six-metre boat to sentimental jewelry – Deep Cove residents have come together to “take back our community.”
That’s the name of a new Facebook group started by Deb Bramley after the Deep Cove resident and her husband had their vehicles broken into in May. Bramley brushed the thefts off as a “one-off” – until the crime stories kept coming in from her friends and neighbours.
She started the Facebook group, now 1,300 members strong, to fan out crime reports to Seymour and Deep Cove-area residents, many of whom have taken to social media to recount their experience with crime in the cove.
While some residents reported pocket change being pilfered from their vehicles, others have been left heartbroken by the rash of crime. One Deep Cove couple said they had some sentimental items stolen from inside their home, including a diamond ring and several gold watches passed down from family members.
Recreational items including mountain bikes and a six-metre boat have also been stolen from the community, according to members of the Facebook group. A couple of parents posted that their sons had been robbed of their iPhones in the Seymour area in separate incidents. Bramley said she heard from a mom whose son had his brand-new vehicle stolen from the Cove a couple weeks ago.
A town hall meeting on Sept. 22 drew a standing-room-only crowd of about 200 concerned residents to Parkgate Community Centre. North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Warren Wilson, an invited speaker, addressed the issue of crime in the Seymour-Deep Cove area, saying there has been “a little bit of a jump in our statistics.”
This is otherwise known as a crime hotspot, of which Warren said there have been a couple in the cove area this summer. He also referenced a “horrific” instance of “violent crime” from February involving a Seymour-area resident being pepper sprayed while interrupting a robbery in his home.
“But overall I want to assure you that the Deep Cove area is hugely safe,” added Wilson, a longtime Deep Cove resident himself.
As for why it seems the Cove is being hit hardest by property crime in the summer months, Wilson said that’s because “it’s simply easier to get here by bus, by bike, by even walking, hitchhiking.”
But these “mercurial” criminals aren’t just concentrating on the Cove area, explains Wilson, but rather moving around the North Shore and Lower Mainland. One week Deep Cove could see some property crime hotspots, while the next it might be Lynn Valley or Lonsdale.
“Right now it’s in the east area,” said North Van RCMP crime analyst Tony Perkovic, whose job it is to predict a criminal’s next steps. Working with this crime data, the North Van RCMP shifts their resources accordingly and steps up patrols in these hotspot areas. So far, a couple of arrests have been made.
On Sept. 8 around 2 a.m. a Panorama Drive resident called police after noticing a suspicious person walking away from his two vehicles. Assisted by a police dog, officers tracked down a 31-year-old man who was found with stolen items from the complainant’s vehicles. Cameron Stewart, of no fixed address, has been charged with theft and breach of court order.
Then, on Sept. 24 around 6 a.m., a Brockton Crescent resident called police after seeing someone walking suspiciously from vehicle to vehicle attempting to break in. Police arrested an 18-year-old North Vancouver resident who has been charged with theft and possession of stolen property.
Police are asking anyone who had items stolen from a vehicle in the Deep Cove area on Sept. 24 to contact them at 604-985-1311, quoting file number 2016-25206.
The RCMP said they rely on residents to observe, record and report suspicious activity in their neighbourhood. It appears Deep Cove residents have taken an active interest in crime prevention, as 26 per cent of the area is under the Block Watch program, compared to 10 per cent participation in neighbouring district communities.
Common sense is also key to avoid being a victim of crime, say police. About 45 per cent of the vehicles broken into this summer in the Parkgate and Cove area were unlocked.
Valuables had been left inside the vehicles and were visible: loose change, sunglasses, laptops and iPhones, to name a few items.
“That’s just like candy to a baby, to a bad guy,” said Wilson. “Ten dollars in change in your console – that’s easy pickings for him and his next fix.”
After seeing an “astronomical” spike in bike thefts, the RCMP have started a new program called NV Get Your Bike Back. Police are encouraging every bike owner to register it by following the link on the North Van RCMP’s homepage.
But what is the likelihood of other property crime victims being reunited with their possessions, especially the sentimental ones? It depends on what has been stolen, said North Van RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Richard De Jong.
“If it’s a set of skis, or something easily identifiable, it’s very difficult,” he says, adding people should engrave serial numbers and photograph their valuables.
As for what most criminals intend to do with their ill-gotten gains, De Jong said, “unfortunately, what underlies most of this generally is drug addiction.”
“People need it for the quick cash for the money that they will then turn around and buy their drugs,” explained De Jong. “It is sold for pennies on the dollar, so to speak. A lot of the bikes end up on the Downtown Eastside.”
North Vancouver district Coun. Lisa Muri can empathize with Cove residents. She said her Seymour-area neighbourhood was targeted by thieves last year. “My van was stolen last year.
So, we have been through this,” said Muri, adding once the residents became more vigilant with reporting burglaries, police caught the criminals. Muri has recently become co-captain of her Block Watch and learned some valuable tips about crime prevention such as “robbers don’t like to run up hills – they like flat.”
And always call in any crime – “even if it’s a quarter stolen.”
Police say a seemingly small tip might be connected to other crimes in the area and could lead to extra charges.
At the end of the day, Muri says of Deep Cove: “We are the safest community in the Lower Mainland.”
