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Break-ins don’t constitute crime wave: RCMP

Police stats show property theft rose only slightly

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Const. Tom Cooke gets out of his car in Iqaluit’s Little Harlem.
(PHOTO BY GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS)

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Police investigators are trying to crack down on the recent wave of break-ins in Iqaluit, where burglars are getting away with bolder, more expensive heists.

In the past months, thieves have bashed through the doors of several government offices, a car garage, the Nunavut court house and dozens of homes.

Despite the apparent crime wave, one police investigator said the RCMP is dealing with roughly the same number of break-ins they do every year.

Const. Tom Cooke said petty crime in Iqaluit is increasing only slightly with the growing population.

“It seems like every evening, we’re having a break-and-enter,” Cooke said. “But if you look at the bigger picture, they’re only going up a little.”

Police investigated more than 230 break-ins last year in Iqaluit, about the same as 2003. Statistics including December’s break-ins are currently unavailable.

Cooke said Iqaluit residents should have confidence that police investigations will track down the criminals. Police claim to have strong leads for several cases, and Const. Yves Gravelle recently arrested several adults and teenagers for five break-ins.

In one case, police are trailing a suspected thief who tried to sell a stolen carving to the owner’s co-worker, less than 24 hours after the break-in. In some cases, police say arrested suspects are confessing to other break-ins.

In recent months, police noticed thieves branching out from regular fare, such as carvings, booze and cigarettes. Many burglars are now stealing electronic equipment, like digital cameras and laptop computers.

Despite the trend, Cooke said investigations don’t reveal any organized nature to the crimes, where electronics are swiftly sold to southern markets.

“I don’t think they’re taking your computer or camera and packing it up and sending it to Montreal,” Cooke said.

Cooke admitted that thieves are getting bolder. Earlier this month, thieves pried open a prominent front door of house 316, a squat, white bungalow in the area known to some as “Little Harlem.”

The resident who left the house shortly before the break-in said someone must have seen the criminals yanking on the door with a crowbar or other tool. He speculated that it would have been difficult to get in through the door because on the other side was a storage space, blocked with tables, 10 boxes and two desktop computers.

David, who only gave his first name, pointed out that his house faces several others. The crime occurred in the late afternoon, or early evening, when a lot of people tend to be walking up and down the street.

Snow from the thieves’ boots was still on the carpet when roommates came home to find the door smashed, and several items missing. They include a digital camera, a laptop computer, several carvings, and two cans of beer. However, they left a wallet with $200 in cash on a table.

David, a 40-year-old mechanic for First Air, said there’s nothing he could have done to prevent the break-in, as the doors were already locked.

He suggested that homeowners will have to install metal doorframes and doors, instead of wooden ones, if they want to protect themselves.

“The wooden doorframes just keep honest people honest,” he said.

Police ask that anyone with information about any break-ins to phone the Iqaluit detachment at 979-0123, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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