Theft from Kamloops home (image contributed)

By Michael Reeve

CONSUMER SAFETY

Kamloops RCMP stressing holiday consumer safety as Christmas nears

Dec 19, 2023 | 7:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — The holiday season, while festive and full of joy, is also ripe with crimes of opportunity.

Just this week, a Kamloops family had a number of delivered packages stolen from their front door. Luckily, the incident was caught on camera and the police have begun an investigation. But it illustrates a reminder from local Mounties of safe consumer practices during the Christmas season.

“There are a lot of circumstances that end up with packages left on our porch, and most of the time it’s fine and I think sometimes we take that for granted because nothing has been stolen before, and we assume it’s not going to be this time and we keep getting it delivered to our house,” said Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Crystal Evelyn. “What’s important to help prevent thefts is make sure if you aren’t going to be home, maybe there is a neighbour who can go and collect your package and put it inside. We don’t want to make nieghbourhoods good fishing holes for criminals.”

And while the cops may be able to catch the culprit thanks to cameras, there is no guarantee your items will still be with them.

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Kamloops police also stressed the importance of how you conduct your last minute shopping around town.

“Sometimes we get so focused on shopping that we might not always be focused on our surroundings as well,” added Evelyn. “It’s important, no matter how rushed you are, that you take a minute, you look around your surroundings, see who is there, make sure you are parking under a well-lit location as well and that you are hiding your stuff to the best of your ability.”