A police association has released a list of 10 common crimes that they say could be drastically curtailed if members of the public just took a few extra precautions.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police released the list on Tuesday morning as part of its annual public safety campaign.
The list includes long-standing crimes, including break-and-enters, impaired driving and the theft of or from vehicles. The list also includes several crimes that police say they have observed a spike in of late, including pharmacy robberies, the theft of prescription drugs from homes and identity theft.
“This is a public campaign of shoulda, woulda, coulda because often when the police officers responds to a theft or break-in, the person kind of says I should have done that or I would have done this,” OACP Vice-President Bryan Larkin told CP24. “We have been hearing this since childhood, since kindergarten about what we should be doing but we are human and we become complacent. Maybe we leave the condominium door unlocked because we know all our neighbours but people can get into the building. This is a simple reminder.”
The list of crimes was compiled with input from police services across the province.
Larkin, who is the chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, told CP24 that the crimes contained on the list are all hugely concerning for those who fall victim to them but he said that they are also preventable and tend to be a drain on officer’s time.
He said that some of the crimes could be prevented by something as simple as locking your door or garage and making sure you don’t leave deliveries on your porch.
“As resources become finite, we need the support of citizens so we can focus on priority crimes,” he said. “Not that these are not priority crime. When your car is broken into you are upset. There is a huge victimization there. But the reality is that we should be focused on larger issues within the community.”
The list of crimes is as follows:
- Residential break-and-enters
- Impaired driving
- Cyber crime/identity theft
- Fraud – online exchanges
- Theft from vehicles, theft of vehicles
- Bicycle theft
- Thefts from garages, lockers, mail boxes, sheds and front porches (deliveries)
- Awareness of your surroundings to prevent assault
- Pharmacy thefts/robberies
- Theft of prescription drugs
