Saanich police and West Shore RCMP reported an increase in the number of break-and-enters to businesses during the winter months, but Oak Bay reported no significant increase.
Saanich police said break-and-enters to businesses showed an increase in November 2019 to January compared to other months in the year. Const. Markus Anastasiades said they investigated double the number of break-and-enters to businesses in January and December than they usually saw in other months of 2019.
West Shore RCMP Const. Nancy Saggar said break-and-enters to residences and other property, including outdoor properties and sheds, did not increase significantly over the period from Oct. 1 to Dec. 1, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.
Saggar said West Shore RCMP has, however, seen an increase in break-and-enters to businesses. “When we look at the types of businesses being broken into we saw an increase into construction site break-ins. There are more construction sites around the West Shore in 2019 than there were in 2018 so this can be a contributing factor,” Saggar said. Saggar added West Shore RCMP’s final numbers will be released in their year-end report due at the end of January.
Oak Bay police spokesperson Ray Bernoties said their check didn’t reveal any seasonal spike in break-and-enters, and the numbers for the holidays “seem like the same sort of numbers” they get in other seasons.
READ ALSO: Police concerned over spike in Oak Bay break-and-enters
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