We know…asking for crime prevention puts the onus on potential victims, but perpetrators have already demonstrated they don’t listen and don’t cooperate. Three male youths are facing dozens of charges as the result of police investigation into numerous recent incidents in southeast and northwest Regina. These events include robberies, break and enters, thefts of vehicles, thefts from vehicles and identity frauds. While these arrests and charges are considered an investigative success, the incidents themselves reflect a failure…to practice the basics of crime prevention. In most of these cases, the vehicles stolen were unlocked with the keys inside; garages were left open; and garage door openers were used to access garages and even houses. In interviews of property crime suspects, one theme keeps coming up: perpetrators return to the neighbourhoods where they’ve had success with unlocked vehicles and open garages. And they share that information with their friends.
Investigators from the Regina Police Service Street Crimes section, working in conjunction with White Butte RCMP, have been investigating close to thirty incidents occurring primarily in Regina neighbourhoods in the southeast and northwest parts of the city. These incidents are alleged to have occurred between September 28th and October 3rd. As an example, one of these incidents was a robbery, which occurred on September 29, 2018, in the area of Green Brook Road. The female resident of a house confronted a group of individuals who were attempting to steal a vehicle from the garage. When she approached the group, one suspect swung a machete at her and another bear sprayed her before fleeing in a stolen SUV. Investigators believe a small group of individuals, most of them youths, are responsible for these crimes. Investigation is ongoing on several of these files, with some alleged perpetrators arrested and charged, and others identified but still to be located. The accused include two sixteen year-old males and one fourteen year-old male.
The charges are too numerous to list but one of the 16 year-old males is facing 43 charges stemming from his arrest on October 15, 2018. These charges include: Robbery [344(1)(b) CC]; Break and Enter [348(1)(b) CC]; Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5,000 [355(a) CC]; Theft under $5,000 [334(b) CC]; Identity Fraud [56.1(1) CC]; weapons, breach and drug charges. This youth made his first court appearance on these charges in Youth Court on October 16, 2018.
As always, the Regina Police Service encourages vehicle owners to remove all valuables from sight in the vehicle. Ideally, take valuables with you. That definitely includes spare keys and garage door openers, even a handful of coins. Lock the vehicle; take your keys. Always report suspicious behavior. We would rather dispatch a night car to check out suspicious activity than learn about a dozen thefts-from-auto the next morning. Get to know your neighbours; build some trust and work together to be the eyes and ears of your neighbourhood. The message is: prevention works, along with continued enforcement and early interventions to address the issues that drive crime. This is the Vision of the Regina Police Service: Working Together to Keep Regina Safe.