A theft of copper wire over the weekend has prompted Vernon police to warn the public to keep their eyes open for any suspicious behaviour near streetlights. Vernon RCMP and and the City of Vernon are now dealing with several recent wire thefts which may be related to other thefts in the Okanagan.
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"The RCMP and the City of Vernon would like the public to be aware of a number of wire thefts that have taken place in the City recently. Members from our Community Response Unit are actively investigating the increase in these thefts," says RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk. Over the weekend, thieves targeted the streetlights on the road leading up to the subdivision at The Rise. The Rise was also targeted in the fall of 2010."Several meters of wire were stolen from the underground conduit between four of the streetlights and numerous others were set up by the thieves to steal the wire as well. It is not known if they were scared off or what happened," says Molendyk. Wire thefts have occurred at the Tavistock development off Tronson Road and the lights at Marshall Fields and the Okanagan College. An attempt to steal the wire was also made at the DND grounds. Molendyk says while it is difficult to prove these thefts are related to similar instances of wire theft in Kelowna and West Kelowna, police are working together. "We are aware that there are copper thefts up and down the valley but it's hard to say if it is in fact the same people. We are looking into the possibility that they could be the same." Molendyk says that if anyone sees activity around the base of streetlights without a marked City of Vernon vehicle nearby, to call police immediately. "These thefts are adding up to tens of thousands of dollars to the City of Vernon, as it is an added expense to repair the damage caused by these thieves." The police and the City of Vernon is asking anyone with any information who might be responsible for these thefts to contact the Vernon RCMP at 250 545-7171 or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477.
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