FERGUS – Some homeowners in north Fergus are concerned about recent crimes in their neighbourhood.
On Dec. 30, Laura Fields of Ryan Street posted a note to Facebook outlining an “unacceptable” increase in crime in her neighbourhood, located west of Highway 6, off Sideroad 18.
Between November and December the Wellington County OPP confirmed there were two incidents occurring on Courtney Street, one street north of Ryan Street.
The first incident occurred at the end of November.
Courtney Street resident Tom Williams said his neighbour called to tell him someone was trying to get into his garage.
“I ran downstairs,” Williams said. “By that time he was … working on the front door and then I yelled at him and … nothing happened and then (I) turned the light on and that’s when he started walking away and left his knapsack there.
“Then I opened the door and I told him ‘don’t come back around here’ and he charged right up and I basically just got the door shut, locked. I’ve never seen somebody run so fast.”
The man then tried to get in the back door of the townhouse as well.
Williams said the man was apprehended that night.
OPP spokesperson Josh Cunningham confirmed the police received a complaint about an “unwanted intoxicated party entering the residence.”
However, though there was an arrest, no charges were laid.
“The case was a mistaken home,” Cunningham said. “An intoxicated party went to the wrong address. So it wasn’t a break-in or a property crime, it was just a misunderstanding of location.”
Williams said the entire incident “messed me up for a bit” with “anxiety.”
He already had security cameras and automatic door locks in his home, but he added an alarm system after the November incident.
“I was shaken up for a bit,” he said.
About a month later the Marchands, also on Courtney Street, experienced an incident that had them calling 911.
At the end of December Sonia and Brad Marchand’s daughter was up past midnight.
“She was startled by somebody who had come to the door and was kind of looking through the door,” Brad said.
“She’d heard the door handle shake,” Sonia added.
Their daughter called for her parents and Brad and Sonia went outside and saw a man in a charcoal hoodie a few doors down. They called 911.
“I guess the guy realized at that point … and it was super, super icy … so it was almost comical because he was having a really hard time running down the street,” Brad said.
“But he had a duffle bag in his hand.”
The Marchand’s saw him picked up by a large black pickup truck at the end of the street.
“Literally they did a three point turn and away they went,” Brad said.
Cunningham confirmed there were a few incidents of mischief the same night on Courtney Street.
“There was a string of break-ins reported,” he said. “It looks like there’s two vehicles that were actually entered.”
He added a garage was entered but nothing was taken and snow tires were taken from a house and found in the park across the street.
The Marchands said the tires belong to their neighbours.
“[The thieves] went in his truck and took his snow tires and rims but they stacked them in the park,” Sonia said. “I guess the pickup truck was coming around to load it up but it never happened.”
Cunningham said such thefts in neighbourhoods are not uncommon.
“Given their proximity to each other, and their ease of access to property like unlocked cars and stuff like that … [it] makes them high risk areas for thieves,” Cunningham said.
“It’s a very easy grab.”
In this situation, Cunningham said it was fortunate there were a few people reporting crimes on the same night.
“It allows us to look at where the suspect was and their activities,” he said. “Some nights we’ve caught people who are going through cars and wait for the phone calls to come in the next day to report them and we don’t have anybody calling in …
“So we’ve had situations whereby we have property that’s been recovered and we can’t return it because people don’t call in.”
Cunningham reiterated it is important to report all incidents so the full extent of the crimes can be investigated.
“It comes down to number one taking responsibility for your own property,” Cunningham said, as well as looking out for neighbours.
“If we have a community that looks out for each other like a subdivision … an area where people look out for each other, you’re actually going to see less problems in those areas.
“It really just becomes knowing who your neighbours are or being aware and most of the time most people are aware.”
Cunningham added, “It’s when they see that unusual van or that unusual car that’s not normally in the driveway, that’s when you start to suspect something maybe is different.
“Of course it’s always advisable to contact the homeowner or the neighbour before you jump into full crime prevention mode, but people are aware and if they see something out of the ordinary or suspect something’s not right … call police.”
This is exactly what the residents in the area of Ryan and Courtney Streets plan to do.
Fields said one neighbour has suggested a neighbourhood watch.
“I think that’s what’s going on right now anyways,” Sonia Marchand said.
In addition, many houses in the neighbourhood have installed cameras and other safety items to try to deter crime.
Cunningham said technology would help deter crime but it could also help solve a crime after the fact.
He also suggested keeping valuables out of sight in homes house and cars.
“Sometimes people can be just as vulnerable during the daylight for a break-in as they can at night, so make sure you lock the doors during the day as well,” Cunningham said.
