RCMP ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WIRE THIEVES

A rash of thefts from area lease sites has RCMP on the lookout for
suspects who could be making tens of thousands of dollars in profits
from stealing and reselling copper wire.

Since March, copper wire has been steadily disappearing from company
sites, mostly in the rural areas of the county, according to Edson
RCMP Const. Tracy O'Brien. Canadian Natural Resources Limited and
Talisman Energy Inc. have been working closely with police to try and
prevent more thefts. Both companies were hit numerous times at
different individual sites each time, O'Brien said.

Recently the RCMP released a statement indicating that a notable
number of copper wire thefts had taken place in the area, mostly at
rural oil well sites.

Tens of thousands of dollars in wire has been stolen from various
sites across the county, said Const. O'Brien.

The crimes are made more difficult for police to solve because they
are happening in remote, wooded areas with few or no potential
witnesses around.

Thieves have been stealing the valuable wire and selling it as scrap
to landfills and individual buyers in recent months, she said, despite
the safety risks involved in removing it.

Wire is used for grounding, so excess electricity can be safely spread
into the ground.

"Copper grounding cable is a vital safety component of any electrical
or gas pipeline facility and removal of this material can have
devastating consequences and result in serious injury or death,
including to those committing the theft," O'Brien indicated in a statement.

She said in the winter and spring months there were scattered reports
of thefts.

These increased in frequency until mid-July when every three days or
so new reports of thefts were coming in.

As of last week the thefts had tapered off. O'Brien couldn't confirm
whether this was a result of a person being arrested in Whitecourt for
a similar offence.

O'Brien was recently signed on to the detachment's General
Investigative Services unit to focus solely on solving property
crimes, such as theft, mischief and vandalism. She will work closely
with other plainclothes units that zero in on drug sales and
trafficking.

There is a definite link between the stealing and selling of black
market items with drug crimes, because criminals often commit property
crimes in order to afford drugs, O'Brien explained.

The drug problem is a huge contributor to what's going on, she said.
If criminals are stealing things they might be doing so to make some
quick cash to buy narcotics.

The property crime position was created because of a general
perception that vandalism and thievery were on the rise in town.

"[RCMP] created the position to work with the community and businesses
to deter this, and get a decrease in the amount of crime that's going
on," O'Brien explained.

Vehicles Vandalized

A specific pattern of vehicle vandalism has been crisscrossing Edson's
residential neighbourhoods over the last month.

In July, seven vehicle owners reported that their rear windows had
been smashed.

In one instance, police determined that three rocks were thrown
through a vehicle's window but otherwise have been unable to tell how
the damage was inflicted.

The vehicles' contents were not touched and no thefts were reported in
any of the cases, O'Brien said.

Fifty-sixth Street was targeted a number of times, and there was an
incident on 50th Street as well as at Vanier School.

The rest have been scattered through town, she said.

O'Brien said police have no suspects in the incidents. Although, so
far, residents have been good about reporting the incidents, she said
police continue to encourage members of the public who see anything
unusual to call the detachment.

"We want to make sure they're aware that if they do see something,
call us so we can follow up on it."

To report a crime call Edson RCMP at (780) 723-8822 or CrimeStoppers
at 1-800-222-TIPS.