WHY US?

Statistics Show Summerside Has Increase In Break-Ins

Summerside and Charlottetown are heading in opposite directions, at
least when it comes to frequency of residential break-ins.

Summerside police reported 99 residential break-ins in 2006, up from
65 in 2005 and 44 in 2004, while Charlottetown registered 132
break-ins in 2006, down from 145 in 2005, and 167 the previous year.

Summerside deputy police chief David Griffin said last year was the
"worst ever" in terms of residential break-ins.

He can't account for why Summerside's total spiked, while
Charlottetown's took a plunge, though he did confirm there are at
least five groups of individuals breaking into homes.

"We've caught a few of them and laid some charges," he said.

Police are continuing to investigate and knock on doors for leads,
said Griffin.

He went on to say what is really frustrating is that many residents
who see "something suspicious" in their neighbourhood don't call
until the next day, or even later.

That also applies to some residents who have noticed intruders in their homes.

Recently, someone broke into a home while its owners were inside and
though the owners knew something was amiss because they heard a door
slam at 3 a.m., police weren't called until hours later.

"They never called us till 10:30 a.m.," he said.

At first, nothing was believed to have been stolen, but it was later
discovered some money had gone missing, said Griffin.

Charlottetown's deputy police chief Richard Collins says "there's no
quick answer" for why Charlottetown's break-in figures are falling
and Summerside's are rising. Summerside probably fared better in
other areas, he surmises.

What he can say with confidence is that residential break-ins and
other forms of property crimes, even armed robberies, will likely
fall in 2007 thanks to the formation of a three-person street crime
unit for Charlottetown.

The unit directs its focus at the street level drug trade, but its
officers can also effectively monitor other criminal activity and
then swoop in - something uniformed officers aren't equipped to do.

In a recent drug bust police seized $3,000 worth of drugs and $7,000
worth of stolen property, said Collins.

"A lot of criminal activity related to break-and-enters is fueled by drugs."

Unit members can be used to target certain crimes such as armed
robberies and home, business and car break-ins.

Make a dent in drug activity and that could have an impact on
break-ins and other property crimes committed by addicts to get the
money they need to pay for their drugs, said Collins.

"I can guarantee that the street crime unit will have an impact on
street level activity. They've already been involved in four major
drug operations since December," said Collins.