Transit Police have serious concerns about a rising pattern in electronic device thefts hitting Burnaby.
Since January, municipal police and RCMP have opened 700 files along the Metro Vancouver transit line, with a 31 per cent increase in the number of violent robberies for cell-phones, tablets and other electronic devices.
"We're involved in joint forces operations with Burnaby RCMP to try and combat the problem around the SkyTrain stations in Burnaby," said Anne Drennan, Transit Police spokesperson, in a phone interview.
Of the 700 police files, Transit Police have opened 47 of them. Burnaby has 41 open cases in total, but not all are reported to the authorities.
"We've likened this to the auto thefts in the '90s when theft from autos was at epidemic proportions," Drennan said. "It's an under reported crime, especially for young people who either can't be bothered or don't think the police can help them, or get worried that their parents will be mad at them - so they don't report it as being stolen."
Drennan said the thieves who steal the phones sell them quickly and it's difficult for police to keep track of it.
"It's very difficult," she said. "The numbers are so high that it's very difficult for us to follow up on that kind of number of sales every day."
However, the police will monitor social media and often find people selling stolen electronics on Facebook.
The way the police are trying to fight this is by making people aware of what they can do to stay safe.
"People just need to know that they have to be aware of their surroundings when using their electronic devices," Drennan said. "We cannot let ourselves get so engrossed on the little screen that we have no idea what's going on beside or coming up behind us."
Transit Police are advising the public to keep cell-phones close to the body, or if the phone is inside a bag or purse, to keep it on your lap and in eyesight.
"We're also recommending people to get free 'find my phone' apps," she said. "They're really helpful. It obviously allows us to trace and recover the phone and help with apprehension."
Another problem with stolen electronics is that they can compromise the owner's private information.
"Another offshoot of this, that we're seeing, is one the phones have been sold . to certain groups of individuals, what they do is mine personal information which leads to identity theft." Drennan said some applications allow owners to wipe or erase information off the device.
For more information, visit www.transitpolice. bc.ca.
