West Vancouver police used a bait car to reel in a couple alleged thieves Sunday.
Two Vancouver cyclists were passing through West Vancouver at 5:30 a.m. when a parked car caught their eyes, according to police.
While the duo rummaged through the car's contents - eventually snagging a GPS and a cellphone - West Vancouver police sped to the scene.
The 38-year-old man and 35-year-old woman pedaled away on their bicycles but police caught up and arrested the duo approximately one block from the bait.
The takedown was a "good use of technology," according to West Vancouver Police Department Const. Jeff Palmer.
Police are recommending charges of theft and possession of stolen property.
The theft was recorded with a hidden camera, resulting in: "those bait car videos that everybody loves," said Palmer.
Both suspects are scheduled to appear in North Vancouver Provincial Court Aug. 13.
Often equipped with property that can be traced, including commonly stolen items such as smartphones, laptops and credit cards, bait cars are rotated throughout West Vancouver
neighbourhoods.
Palmer reminded residents to remove valuables from their cars to avoid tempting windowshopping thieves.
"Even with a locked door - if something's visible and it's a theft temptation - a window's fairly easily broken."
North Vancouver RCMP recently reported 536 thefts from vehicles between Jan.
1 to May 15 - a 48 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.
West Vancouver saw an 11 per cent bump over the same stretch with 70 thefts from vehicles compared to 63 last year.
