CAP team member Jon George inspects car on Victoria St. for any visible valuables on Thursday (Image Credit: CFJC Today)
LOCK OUT AUTO CRIME

Local authorities, volunteers help to educate drivers about auto crime prevention

Jun 13, 2019 | 4:12 PM

KAMLOOPS — ICBC and the Kamloops RCMP teamed up on Thursday to educate drivers on preventing auto crime.

With the help of the CAP team and other volunteers, teams canvassed downtown, bringing awareness to drivers about not leaving valuables in their cars.

The program, called Lock Out Auto Crime, had teams walk down Victoria Street and inspect every parked car. They looked for any loose valuables or rolled down windows, and then put a note on vehicles they think might be vulnerable to theft.

“We go through and check vehicles to make sure they have all of their belongings secured and make sure everything is secured, all the doors are locked, there are no sun roofs that are open. Just educating drivers,” said CAP team member Jon George. “Most aren’t too bad. There are a few. Things that are common are laptops, iPhone cords, GPS, things like that people wouldn’t really think of.”

The Kamloops RCMP says there have been an average of 42 thefts per week in the last two months in the city. Police add that doesn’t account for all break-ins.

“There are a lot of items that aren’t reported to us,” said Cpl. Jodi Shelkie. “People report to us when they have a wallet stolen or a computer or expensive sporting equipment. Things like that we hear about. We want to hear about all of them, though.”