In the last two issues of the Barrhead Leader we have run stories about how Barrhead’s top cop, Sgt. Bob Dodds is concerned about the rise in property crime, most notably the number of stolen vehicles.
At the County of Barrhead Feb. 6 council meeting Dodds said that in 2017, RCMP members responded to 664 property crimes with 106 of them being stolen vehicles.
And if the first part of 2018 is any indication it doesn’t look like this year is going to be any better. A few weeks ago RCMP received 12 stolen vehicle complaints in a six-day period. Eight of them were unlocked with the keys in them. (Statistics he repeated the following week at town council.)
As we stated last week and in other opinion pieces, it is time that people start taking some responsibility for the automobile thefts, by taking some simple preventative measures. Start by locking your vehicle, not leaving your keys in the car and use a steering wheel locking device.
Simple enough. However, we don’t think that is good enough. The community itself has to be a little more proactive through forming or joining neighbourhood watch programs.
We are fortunate that we have already one such group, Rural Crime Watch which is active in the county, but how about a similar one for the town? That being said, while we advocate the creation of community crime watch groups, we caution these groups to limit their activities to watching and reporting suspicious activity to the RCMP and to public education.
During the town council meeting Dodds recounted a story about a resident who recognized a stolen truck and then proceeded to follow it.
Eventually the truck stopped and the citizen got out of their vehicle to confront the would-be-thief who then rolled down the window and pulled out a rifle.
The general public is not equipped to do policing. We do not have the training, equipment, or as Sgt. Dodds, said the judgment to know when we are in danger.
This is why we are disturbed to learn about the Facebook group Firearms for Farmers. As their name suggests the group advocates the carrying of firearms to protect themselves and their property. In fact if you read their mission statement it states, “We will protect our belongings and family if needed. If the RCMP response time is delayed we will take matters in our own hands as we refuse to be a victim.”
While we understand people’s frustration about property crime this is not the way to solve the issue. The best way for us to reduce crime is do our best to make it harder for the criminals by locking our vehicles, homes, and equipment sheds and by being the extra eyes and ears for the RCMP.
