Several people have been reporting minor theft from cars in the neighbourhood. If it happens to you, feel free to warn other neighbours by contacting your Neighbourhood Watch block captain, sending a message to the webmaster, or by posting on the neighbourhood Facebook group. If this gets bad enough, the Neighbourhood Watch can arrange for an education meeting about theft prevention. Though https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/safety-and-crime-prevention.asp is a good place to start (hmmm, there’s a section on what to do if your vehicle is broken into).
Please also let our local constable Dawn Neilly know so that even if they can’t catch the thieves, they can track the kind and locations of the crimes. https://champlainpark.org/neighbourhood-watch/reporting-incidentsemergencies-within-our-community/
Here’s a report from one of our neighbours about an event on the wee hours of May 17:
Just wanted to report that my car at xxx Cowley was broken into last night at around 2:45 AM. Nothing was stolen but the 2 culprits (both wearing black hoodies, one in beige pants) were heading North down the last block of Cowley towards the Ottawa River. During my drive around, I noted a few other cars around the neighbourhood with their doors ajar, or dome lights on so this may not be the only notification you receive.
Then there was a post last night (May 19) on the Facebook group about sunglasses being stolen overnight from a car, leaving the interior light on and door ajar. Car reportedly was locked. There’s another report of small change being stolen. Someone noted that baby gear is never stolen, so we can rule out desperate mothers as the thief :-).
– Alex
