By Nigel Maxwell

Midtown area sees spike in petty crime

Apr 26, 2018 | 8:00 AM

With temperatures warming up, Prince Albert’s criminal element has emerged from hibernation.

The Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) received a number of complaints in the past two weeks regarding thefts from vehicles, attempted break-ins, and stolen vehicles. One of the hardest hit areas was the city’s midtown area. Ward three councilor Evert Botha said there has been a lot of extra foot traffic.

“I wish there was something we could do about those back lanes and I know our neighbourhood watch group is going to be working on getting some lights up, and I would like to get some cameras up too if we could get additional funding,” he said.

One of the incidents reported this week to paNOW involved a homeowner having both his vehicles being stolen from outside his house. One of the vehicles was later recovered after a high speed chase in the city. Another video posted recently to the Prince Albert Neighbourhood Watch groups shows a man entering a back gate at 2 p.m. in the afternoon and attempting to break into a garage. The intruder ran off after the homeowner emerged from the house and chased him away. 

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Botha said he is encouraged to see residents getting more engaged by talking with each other and sharing images to social media. He said police have done a good job too patrolling but face brazen criminals.

“It’s not predictable anymore because it’s literally taking place from early in the morning to late at night so I’d like to see more focus,” he said. “It’s a city wide problem, not just midtown, we are seeing it up on the hill as well.”

Botha encouraged residents to secure their properties by making sure all doors are locked and keys are not available or visible through a door or window.

paNOW attempted to reach out to Prince Albert Police for comment and was told “the Midtown Area is a regular part of the PAPS high visibility patrols.”

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell