The snowbanks of Snowmageddon are giving criminals a boost, say police
RNC says buildups of snow can obscure criminal activity as well as aid it
Snowmageddon's leftover snowbanks still linger all over St. John's, impairing drivers' views, impeding snow removal efforts — and, say police, potentially helping thieves gain access to your home.
Const. James Cadigan of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says thieves have been using the unusually high snowbanks to peek inside people's home for valuables, and to gain access.
"The perpetrators here were using the high snowbanks to access second-level windows, second-level entries," Cadigan said. "Basically places you wouldn't be able to reach other than this time of year."
Cadigan said from Saturday evening to Sunday morning in the Waterford Valley area, police responded to several break-ins and attempts in which high snowbanks were used to gain entry. Police don't know if they were work of more than one person.
The recent break-ins are the newest crime of opportunity to be reported following last month's blizzard, but they aren't the first.
After the storm, the Facebook group "NL Snowmageddon 2020 Warriors" was created for people affected by the blizzard to provide updates — included people who were the victims of crime.
Connie Gartland, who lives on Rotary Drive in St. John's, became a victim herself two weeks ago, when her $2,600 snowblower was stolen out of her driveway. Gartland says the crime didn't just hurt her, it hurt her neighbours as well.
"It was the street's snowblower," Gartland said. "There's two of us on the street who got snowblowers and I always help the gentleman next door."
After the big blizzard, says Gartland, the two snowblowers were used to help anyone on the street who needed help. Now they're down to one.
Reviewing video from a neighbour's house across the street, Gartland learned two men took over 30 minutes to break into the locked shelter where the snowblower was kept. It happened at about 2.a.m. and two taxis and a pedestrian drove by as it was being stolen.
Gartland says police followed tracks down the street until they suddenly disappeared, possibly where the stolen snowblower was lifted into a vehicle.
She says the criminals are emboldened by the cover given by the snow buildup.
"There's a snowbank in front of my house that if someone wanted to go into my basement window or walk across the front of my house, they really wouldn't be detected like they normally would be."
Gartland says she's heard reports of as many as a dozen snowblower thefts in her neighbourhood and says the police told her thieves often have a buyer lined up before the item is even stolen.
"I know we're short-staffed big time, police-wise and things but … these guys are almost laughing at us," Gartland said.
With files from The St. John's Morning Show