Olds RCMP are investigating a rash of thefts that occurred in town over the past week to 10 days ñ including a couple of thefts of guns from vehicles ñ but they say it may be weeks or months before that investigation results in anything solid.
Cpl. Shawn Morgan says the rate of thefts appears double what police can expect during a regular week.
Over that period of time police were alerted to two thefts of long guns from vehicles, nine thefts of vehicles ñ eight trucks and one car, seven break-ins to businesses and three break-ins to residences.
The thefts also include an incident in which thieves ransacked the Agricultural Financial Services Corporation in the Provincial Building as well as thefts in businesses along Highway 27.
As of late last week, Morgan could not say definitively if the thefts were all the work of one or two groups or just individuals.
If groups, he could not say if they're people in town or from out of town, although in Bowden, RCMP did catch one vehicle that contained items that appeared to have been stolen from as far away as Lacombe.
"We could speculate," he said. "I mean, it's too coincidental to say that we had multiple groups in town, or is it one large group that came through town, or is it an existing group in town? There's just not enough evidence for us to say.
"I could speculate with the best of them and say, ëyeah, this is what could be' and what have you, but the reality is that it could be any number of theories," he added.
Morgan said the best thing to do is to deter theft by following simple rules: lock your doors and don't leave anything in sight that might attract thieves.
"Crime's going to happen ñ that's a given," Morgan said. "It's target hardening; make your place the least welcoming and the harder for criminals to make entry."
"I could speculate with the best of them and say, 'yeah, this is what could be' and what have you, but the reality is that it could be any number of theories." OLDS RCMP CPL. SHAWN MORGAN
