Public warned about vehicle ‘smash and grabs’ during holiday season

Halifax Regional Police and some local car owners are on alert amid a rash of robberies from vehicles across Halifax Regional Municipality.

Police say citizens filed at least 256 theft-from-vehicle reports in HRM from the beginning of October to late November. One recent robbery happened on Wednesday night on Mont Blanc Terrace, near the MacKay Bridge.

With the holiday season fast approaching, police are warning vehicle owners to keep their doors locked and their gifts at home.

“These are crimes of opportunity,” HRP Cst. John MacLeod told The Signal from outside of police headquarters. “If individuals that are looking for those opportunities see a vehicle full of presents or gifts, it certainly will make it a better target.” 

Smashed north-end windows

Police reported a spike in theft-from-vehicle reports between September and December compared with the same period in previous years. The reports from one week in late November indicated thieves were on the prowl from the downtown area to the north end.

The Signal also received tips from citizens who reported overnight smash-and-grabs on at least three streets around Lady Hammond Rd. and Robie St. Large piles of glass could be seen on several streets in the north-end district.

A man on Highland Ave. said he woke up to find his vehicle with two smashed windows outside of his home. Another nearby neighbour said his driver’s-side window was smashed out and that someone took tools from his back seat.

New truck targeted

Shards of glass remained strewn across the curb on downtown Carlton St. more than three weeks after someone smashed the passenger-side window of Brian Donohue’s truck.

He had parked the pickup overnight outside of Spring Garden Terrace. The following morning he arrived to find a camera case missing from the back seat and a pile of glass on his passenger seat.

“It was a mess. There was glass everywhere inside,” Donohue told The Signal beside his truck, the passenger window draped in a makeshift plastic covering.

“When you go inside you can see where the window was broken. It is all scratched up. I wasn’t going to replace it but this is almost a brand new truck so I felt like maybe I should.”

HRP prevention tips

Police are asking the public to report any suspicious activity, but Donohue said he’s going to cut his losses. 

“Honestly I called (police) because insurance needs the number,” he said. “They are never going to find these people.”