By Daniel Brown
Nov. 30, 2018
It may be the same person
who’s breaking the windows of multiple Charlottetown vehicles and stealing from
them, says a crime analyst.
The Charlottetown Police
issued a statement on Nov. 26. It warned of an increase of smash and grabs,
which is when someone breaks a vehicle’s window and steals from it.
Glen McGrath is a crime
analyst for the Charlottetown Police. Car thefts where the window is broken isn’t
common on P.E.I., which lead police to think it may be one person doing it,
McGrath said.
“It’s unusual for that to occur.”
Car thieves usually wait for
someone to leave their car unlocked, rather than break the windows. There have
been close to 10 of these incidents in the past two weeks, he said.
There’s normally something
of value being stolen in these incidents. Cars are often stolen from to fuel
drug addictions, and can happen anytime of year, he said.
“It’s not just because it’s
the winter.”
Laura McCallum, insurance
broker for Peake & McInnis, hasn’t personally reported any claims for car
break-ins.
“Most people don’t claim for
break-ins,” she said.
If property is stolen from
the vehicle, the claim would fall under home insurance. And if a vehicle’s
window is damaged or broken, it usually isn’t claimed at all, she said.
“We wouldn’t know the
specifics of why the glass was broken.”
Mary Morrison, a specialist
with the Co-operators Insurance, said it could cost $400 to $500 to fix a
vehicle window.
“That might include the
clean-up,” she said.
Shattered glass could get
spread throughout the vehicle, and possibly into the air vents, she said.
Scott Lundrigan, provincial
coordinator of PEI Crimestoppers, say’s they’re not getting any more tips than
usual for car break-ins.
“It’s just that time of
year,” he said.
Crimestoppers receives more
tips for car break-ins during tourist season in the summer. People breaking
into cars are usually doing it for socioeconomic reasons, like unemployment or
addiction, he said.
“Car break-ins are common."
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