Date: Friday, January 15, 2021

File: 21-2021

Victoria, BC – Officers are investigating after several businesses were broken into on Fort Street overnight.

At approximately 1:45 a.m. this morning, Patrol and VicPD K9 officers responded to a report of an alarm in a business in the 600-block of Fort Street. When they arrived, they discovered that at least five businesses in the building, including hair salons and a restaurant, had all been targeted. The suspect appears to have fled the area by the time officers arrived. The method of entry – the removal of glass – appears to resemble that of a series of break and enters that we alerted our community about earlier this month.

Investigators with our Forensic Identification Services section and our Investigative Service Division, along with Patrol officers, continue to investigate this series of break and enters.

There are key steps that you can take today which will help protect your business.

They include:

  • Remove valuables from your business where possible when you close.
  • If you cannot remove valuables or merchandise, move it out of view from all windows.
  • Empty your cash drawer and leave it clearly displayed in a window.
  • Review your surveillance system to ensure your system is working, is of useful resolution, and captures all potential areas of entry.
  • Review your alarm company contact information to ensure you’ll be contacted in the event an alarm is triggered.
  • Report damaged windows and doors, even if entry isn’t made. You can report these online 24 hours a day through online reporting and through our VicPD Connect App.
  • Download our VicPD Connect App for alerts and easy reporting of break and enter attempts.
  • Talk with your business neighbours, ask if they’ve had damaged windows, doors or other break-in attempts and share this list with them.

Investigators are continuing to work on the series of break and enters. We will continue to update our community on developments in these ongoing investigations.

If you have surveillance footage from the area or information about these overnight break and enters, please call our Report Desk at (250) 995-7654, extension 1. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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