Date: Thursday, January 28, 2021

File: 21-3452

Victoria, BC – Patrol officers are investigating another glass smash break and enter targeting a downtown business.

Shortly after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 26th, Patrol officers discovered a broken window at a restaurant in the 800-block of Fort Street. Officers investigated and learned that thieves had broken a window after the proprietor closed the previous evening. The suspects then stole the cash register, making off with a small amount of money. The empty cash register was discovered a short distance away.

In response to requests from the downtown business community to our Community Resource Officers, VicPD’s Analysis and Intelligence Section is providing the following statistics, which show that 2020 was the second-highest year for reports of break and enters to downtown Victoria businesses in a 11-year period, dating back to 2010.

Business break and enters have also been on the rise over the past four months, with January of 2021 seeing the largest spike in incidents. Between January 1st and January 27th of 2021 there were 37 business break and enters in Victoria and Esquimalt. In December of 2020 there were 26 break and enters in this area. In November there were 16 break and enters, and in October there were 18.

Our officers are working with the Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) to help address these ongoing break and enters. In addition to increasing our proactive patrols in the business district where possible, our investigators are continuing to follow active leads and search for suspects.

Officers across Greater Victoria have seen a marked increase of break and enters to businesses where thieves gain entry by smashing glass. No business is proving to be too small to be targeted by thieves.

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.

If you have information about this incident you are asked to call the VicPD Report Desk at (250) 995-7654 extension 1. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stopper at 1-800-222-8477.

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