AT 4:50 a.m. in the morning of June 9, North Vancouver RCMP received a report of an alarm activation at a business on Marine Drive near Bridgeman Avenue. Frontline officers who were dispatched found evidence that a burglary had taken place. As they began their investigation, minutes later, at 5 a.m., operations centre call takers received a second report of an alarm activation at another business only 300 metres West on Marine Drive near MacGowan Avenue. Believing the suspect was likely still in the area, officers immediately set in motion a plan to cast a net over the area in the hope that they might catch the person responsible.
“Officers immediately created an area of containment while they called for a police dog from the Integrated Police Dog Service,” said Sgt. Peter DeVries. “IPDS is one of a number of specialized resources from our Lower Mainland integrated Teams who are available to frontline officers in situations where their expertise will help resolve an incident.”
Additional frontline officers flooded the area to conduct patrols and look for suspects. While waiting for the police dog to arrive, a patrolling officer spotted a man sitting at a bus stop. After a brief discussion, the officer discovered grounds to arrest the man for breaching conditions of his probation order. Additional evidence gathered through the course of the investigation ultimately led the officer to arrest him for two counts of break and enter, theft of mail, and possession of property obtained by crime. Officers anticipate recommending charges to BC Prosecution Service in the near future against a 27-year-old man of no fixed address.
Almost exactly 24 hours later, at 5:20 a.m. in the morning of June 10, a North Vancouver resident living near Delbrook Avenue and Evergreen Place called the RCMP to report a theft in progress. He reported watching as two thieves stole a package from his front porch. “He was able to provide descriptions of the suspects before they fled the area,” said DeVries. “The information he provided was a critical piece of evidence for officers who were looking for the people responsible.”
Frontline officers patrolled the neighbourhood and soon after located two suspects, one of whom was on a bicycle. They matched the descriptions provided by the home owner and so officers placed them under arrest for theft.
“As the officers continued to conduct their investigation, they discovered evidence that led them to arrest both suspects for additional offences,” said DeVries. “In the end, the pair were arrested for theft, possession of property obtained by crime, possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of a dangerous weapon.” The investigation is ongoing, said DeVries, and officers anticipate recommending charges to BC Prosecution Service in the near future against a 25-year-old woman from Surrey, and a 31-year-old man of no fixed address.
“Reducing property crime in North Vancouver is a priority for the community. We have specialised units who use advanced investigative techniques to target these offences, and just as this situation demonstrates, we rely on the community to call us when they see something suspicious.” said DeVries. “That said, ultimately our frontline patrol officers are at the vanguard of the effort. Fighting crime wouldn’t work without those boots on the ground.”