Victoria, BC – A suspect has been taken into custody in our investigation into a series of break and enters that shared a similar method of entry: defeated fire key vaults. While our investigation is ongoing, officers are confident that the person responsible is in custody as there have been no further reports of similar incidents since the arrest.
VicPD officers and the Victoria Fire Department worked closely together throughout the investigation. Once the method of entry was determined to be made by defeating fire key vaults, the Victoria Fire Department proactively secured over 1100 key vaults, taking custody of all vault keys and restoring building access security. Those measures, in concert with our investigation and subsequent arrest, have resulted in no additional break and enters being reported.
Key vaults allow firefighters immediate access to buildings during a fire or other emergency. Their use is standard practice around the world. We first announced the discovery of the series of break and enters using this method on September 25th, 2017.
While an arrest has been made, our investigation remains active and ongoing. This limits the details that we are able to release about the incidents or the person in custody at this time. However officers felt it important to update our community on the latest developments in this investigation and to reassure them that the incidents appear to have come to an end at the time of the arrest.
If you have information about our ongoing investigation please call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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