Lewisporte residents concerned about policing after recent string of break-ins

Haley Kinden, owner of Kinden's Bakery and Café in Lewisporte, went to work recently and arrived to find her worst nightmare.

"The window on the door was smashed," she said. "And the till was taken right from the counter."

The robbery at Kinden's business is just one incident in a string of recent break-ins in Lewisporte, at both businesses and private residences. She said it's causing a drop in morale in the community.

"It sticks with you and the other business owners," she said.

"We're scared, we're paranoid, we're waking up at night, checking our cameras. Our sense of safety has definitely been obstructed and uprooted."

The string of robberies has made Kinden hesitant to even repair her door, as she said another business in the area was broken into again after they repaired their door. 

"I'm spending thousands on extra security," she said. "I'm trying to keep it lighthearted for my kids because they're frightened. I'm trying to keep the morale up with my staff because they're scared as well."

While Kinden's business is equipped with security cameras, the video wasn't very helpful.

"I feel guilty over all the things I should have done," she said. "And I feel like a lot of business owners feel the same way."

'A lack of police presence'

Kinden noted the police don't have an active presence in the community. 

"The RCMP were amazing that day, but they did have to come from Twillingate," she said.

"They've been as supportive as they can and they did everything they could that day, and we had the forensics team come out as well. But they have voiced that they are frustrated with the recruitment in town."

Lewisporte Mayor Krista Freake also says the lack of police in the community is an issue. 

"There's a lack of police presence, which I think people are aware of, and therefore it opens us up for such crimes," Freake said.

"It's not difficult to figure that out if you're a resident in this community. Obviously response times change and right now we're sharing service with Twillingate. So even if there is an officer or officers on on duty, the response time could be lengthy."

Freake said there have been at least 10 break-ins in Lewisporte in recent weeks. 

"It's not something we would traditionally experience in Lewisporte," she said.

"You see similar crime across the province certainly and we know we're in tough economic times. In some circumstances, addictions are issues, in some circumstances, lack of services are issues."

Freake said the Town of Lewisporte has been in conversation with the RCMP since January 2021. 

"We identified that there was a downgraded service of the RCMP here in Lewisporte and the impact that would have in our community," she said.

But since then, not much has changed.

"We do not have a corporal at this time, which means there's a lacking of leadership and direction," said Freake.

Cpl. Jolene Garland, the RCMP's media relations officer in Newfoundland and Labrador, says the force is working on recruitment. 

"There's two vacancies that exist right now at Lewisporte detachment, one of which is looking at being filled in the very, very near future, and plans are underway to staff a second position," Garland said. 

However, a constant police presence in the community is not in the cards.

"24/7emergency response to anybody in Lewisporte or surrounding area, that remains available and always has," she said.

"As for 24-hour police patrolling, there would be very few areas in the country that have that level of service."

In the meantime, she said, the RCMP will make adjustments to how they work in Lewisporte, like bringing in additional resources or changing schedules, if necessary.

Stats show 4 more break-ins

Garland said the string of break-ins isn't really a spike in crime in light of the statistics. 

"When we look at the time period as a whole, taking from April to September of this year versus April to September of last year, the reports aren't that much different," Garland said.

"We had 14 reported for 2022 and now we have 18 for this year."

Despite that, Garland said the RCMP are actively investigating the recent crop of robberies.

"We will do what needs to be done," Garland said.

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