String of car break-ins worry West Island residents
Quiet residential neighbourhoods reporting cars broken into without signs of forced entry
There is growing concern among some West Island residents about cars being broken into on residential streets.
Several residents in Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Kirkland have told CBC, or reported on social media, that their cars had been recently broken into while parked outside their homes.
In many cases, while some items were displaced, residents claim nothing of value was stolen.
"They're looking for something, we just don't know what," said DDO resident Robert Wiseman.
The first time, he says he heard the garage door open, but when he went to see why, he heard and saw nothing.
The next morning, however, his wife's car had clearly been rifled through, and the garage door opener was missing.
"This is Dollard — these things aren't supposed to happen here. We're supposed to feel safe," said Wiseman.
No signs of forced entry
Wiseman and several other residents say there have been no signs anyone broke locks or windows to get into into their cars.
DDO resident Machelle Wilchesky said her car was broken into only a few days ago.
"I don't think anything is missing, there's no sign of forced entry at all. It's just very strange," Wilchesky said.
Last December, CBC reported on phantom car breakins in the West Island that eluded authorities.
While the phenomenon appears to be occurring regularly, authorities don't appear to have much to say about it.
Montreal police confirm they arrested three people last week on a residential street in Pierrefonds and charged one of them with stealing items from vehicles. However, police say the man was simply targeting unlocked cars.
Police have not yet responded to CBC's request for comment on car break-ins in the West Island.
Relatively safe
Gerry Lauzon of the Dollard-des-Ormeaux Patrol Service says his department isn't aware of any larger trend when it comes to phantom break-ins.
"It's nothing that we've looked into before or been brought to our attention."
He argues the city is relatively safe since a municipality of DDO's size should average close to 300 break-ins per year.
Still, Lauzon says his service does increase patrols in areas that have reported incidents, and attributes the decrease in reported break-ins to better collaboration with the Montreal police department.