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Penticton  

Thieves caught on camera stealing from charity donation bin, RCMP return stolen goods

Thieves caught after looting

Contributed Local Security

Thanks to quick work by a security company and the Summerland RCMP, thieves stealing out of donation bins from a local charity were caught on Friday night.

Local Security founder, Adam Power, worked alongside Betts Electric to install security equipment for the Critteraid Charity Thrift Store, who keep having crooks come by.

“There's been kind of ongoing issues at Critteraid with people stealing from their donation bin out back, and that really impacts them because they use those donations to the thrift shop to fund their farm and all their philanthropy,” Power said.

Lori Huot-Stewart, president of Critteraid, said “on average we get ransacked and light-fingered people that decided to do some midnight shopping, there's at least two to three a night. It's really a problem.”

Local Security did a joint project with Betts Electrical, who supplied a camera installation and put up one of their smart guard cameras at the back of the Critteraid building a few days ago.

“It shoots right down the alley...We have a real good eye now on both sides coming in,” Huot-Stewart said, adding the cameras also have facial recognition.

The security company also started mobilizing their virtual remote guard services throughout COVID-19, allowing teams to keep an eye on multiple properties at night time.

"[It’s] a lot more effective or safe than what we could do if we had people out in the field," Power said.

The thieves broke into the other thrift shop beside the Critteraid store, then moved into the donation bins on Friday at around 11:30 p.m., according to Huot-Stewart.

“Our operators noticed them on the cameras right away and they were able to contact the police and give them a description of the people and the vehicle they were driving and items they had stolen,” Power said.

Power said that police were able to mobilize quickly and pull over the vehicle and retrieve the stolen goods.

“We had a clean, clear shot of their car and the police had them stopped within minutes, which of course they updated us and then they were nice enough to bring our stuff back,” Huot-Stewart said.

“We got a really good picture of them (RCMP) because they waved at the camera as some of them do at these sites that we monitor since they know we're watching them,” Power added. “It was one of those circumstances where we put it in it to solve a problem and everything worked perfectly the way it's supposed to.”

Huot-Stewart said she’s really grateful to the RCMP for their work and they have been 'amazing' in letting them know what they can do in the scope of cases.

“I just thought it was awesome, we've lost so much stuff and they've been so good. The RCMP have been coming by, with all the extra shifts going around,” she said. “We just also upped our game.”

Critteraid asks if you do donate, please try to drop off during the day before 8 p.m.

Huot-Stewart said that if the individuals who keep ransacking the donation bins need help, she’s there to assist, adding to call her directly at 250-486-2994.

“If these people need some help, they literally just have to call me. There's no need to steal it. I will find a solution for them.”

RCMP were not available for comment.



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