A north Nanaimo home broken into recently didn't appear to be a randomly selected address. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

be prepared

‘This appeared to be pre-scouted:’ prepared thieves pull off damaging break-in

Aug 4, 2022 | 6:28 AM

NANAIMO — Police say a north Nanaimo break-in which drained thousands of dollars in valuables has the hallmarks of an organized, pre-planned hit.

On Monday, July 18 at about 11 a.m., a home on Sunset Rd. was broken into during a less than one hour period in which the homeowners had left. They returned to find numerous items gone, including irreplaceable valuables like wedding rings and a set of baby teeth.

Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O’Brien called the break-in and its results highly disturbing.

“It’s thousands of dollars, but a lot of these items you can’t even put a dollar value on them because they’re wedding rings and you can’t replace the sentimental value, it’s a real tragedy.”

The suspect vehicle is a light coloured van with a man and woman, both Caucasian seen at the home at the time.

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It turns out alert community minded watchdogs were taking note and their information has allowed investigators to get off on the right foot.

“That area has an active Block Watch and they were key in providing information on the suspect vehicle and a description of the man and woman associated to that vehicle.”

He said the thieves appeared to do some pre-scouting before striking.

“Most likely they were scouting this home out to see when the home owners were leaving and they had an hour window where they went into the house and stole a number of items.”

O’Brien said these types of crimes of opportunity escalate drastically in many communities during the spring and summer seasons when people tend to be away from the home more during the day.

People scoping out various neighbourhoods to see when people leave and return to their homes are a pre-scouting tool thieves use, O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He said easy targets are unlocked points of entry like windows, doors and sheds.

“They’ll even do a fake knock on the door just to assess whether there’s someone in the house or whether there’s an alarm system and how they can possibly deactivate it.”

O’Brien said while home security and video surveillance systems are preferred deterrents, lower cost options like sensor lights and simple locks protecting sheds and bikes serve as effective visual deterrents.

“Simple measures go a long way. Nearly half of vehicles broken into into in the Nanaimo area are unlocked,” O’Brien noted.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes