‘If you’re not going to come, just say you’re not going to come’

A Crescentwood homeowner who was the victim of a break-in had photos of the suspects, their getaway vehicle — even the location of his stolen laptop — but he was missing one key element: police.

The homeowner said it was bad enough to lose irreplaceable items and family heirlooms during the Friday break-in but what was even more upsetting was the fact that police didn’t go to his house at all, nor rush to retrieve the laptop after he used location tracking to tell them where it was.

He said police didn’t contact him until Monday, to take a verbal report over the phone, and he still doesn’t know if officers ever went to the address where the laptop was.

“We were inside the house when we phoned police and told them we didn’t know if they were still in the house,” said the homeowner, who asked not to be named fearing possible retaliation by the pair who committed the break and enter.

“Police told us to leave the house and wait outside until they arrived. They also said don’t clean up until we get there. But they never did show up — apparently they were too busy. We finally went back inside about 90 minutes later after a neighbour showed us a video of the thieves leaving.”

The homeowner didn’t want to be named because: “if something happened we know we can’t count on police coming.

“If you’re not going to come, just say you’re not going to come.”

Frank Cormier, a criminologist and University of Manitoba professor, said he can empathize with the man’s frustration, especially with the increasing prevalence of surveillance cameras and tracking devices which would appear to assist police in solving crimes.

“I know where it is, can we go get it, and the police, most often, will be nope, sorry, don’t have time,” Cormier said. “It feels like this is such an easy win, why wouldn’t you take this from me? Why wouldn’t you want to help? So I understand peoples’ frustration.”

The criminologist said a person’s stolen item might be the most important thing in the world to them but, to a busy police service, it’s just another theft. Still, he worried about the message it sends — to the public and to thieves — when police don’t show up.

“There’s a major lack of deterrence here. If we can increase the certainty of being caught for a crime, it really does reduce the amount of people who are willing to commit that crime.

“But if the word is out that even if somebody puts a tracker on something, and they know where it is, police probably aren’t coming, then those things are not a deterrent to crime.”

That could lead to people taking the law into their own hands, he said.

“That’s what makes this a really important issue right now because, as the technology expands, and more and more people get the trackers, we are going to see more and more cases of this and we will see more and more people possibly placing themselves in danger over this,” Cormier said.

“There’s a major lack of deterrence here. If we can increase the certainty of being caught for a crime, it really does reduce the amount of people who are willing to commit that crime.”–Frank Cormier

Cory Wiles, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, called the homeowner’s situation frustrating.

“But the lack of resources leading to it has, unfortunately, become ‘the norm’ in Winnipeg, particularly when it comes to property crime. Our members are doing their best, but the reality is that the resources currently available simply aren’t enough to meet the high demand for our services in our city.”

Wiles said it’s up to the mayor and city council to ensure there are enough officers to keep up with the city’s ongoing crime problems.

“Without this commitment, it will be difficult to address ongoing concerns about long wait times and the shortage of available officers,” he said.

Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Ally Cox said when the homeowner called about the break-in, all units in the area were occupied with urgent calls.

“The call originally was placed as the highest property offence priority,” Cox said. “After approximately 35 minutes, the complainant confirmed no one was in the house and at this time the priority was downgraded.”

Cox urged victims of crime never to attempt to recover stolen goods, even if they can track the items.

“That could create additional risks of injury if confronting a suspect,” she said. “Gather all information you can, including pictures or screenshots showing where your property is, preferably with a time, and provide that information to police to investigate.

“Property can be replaced and is not worth creating undue risk to yourself.”

The homeowner said of all the items stolen, one of the ones that hurts the most is his late dad’s watch.

“He was given it on his 21st birthday and he wore it all through his time in the Royal Navy (during the Second World War). He had the only watch with a luminous dial, so it was loaned out at night to whoever was on the bridge so they could tell the time.

“I would sure love to get that back.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca