Public Alert – Residential Break and Enters

The Owen Sound Police Service is alerting the public regarding residential break and enters that have occurred recently. Toronto Police have released a similar alert in the Jane and Keele area south of the 401. It is believed that there could be several groups involved however many commonalities exist with the break and enters in the different areas.

All of the break ins have occurred during daytime hours while people are outside doing yard work or away from their house for a short period of time. The culprits are entering the homes by unlocked doors or by minimal force. The most recent incident involved a screen being cut to access the locking mechanism on an inside door. Once inside the home, the culprits immediately attend the master bedroom where they obtain jewellery and sometimes cash. The entire time to do this could be no more than a couple minutes and often the residents are unaware that a break in occurred until they discover their jewellery gone. The main targets of the break ins are elderly residents.

In some cases the homeowner has been at home and met the culprit at the door. The culprit in the Owen Sound cases has passed the homeowner a tourist information pamphlet or appeared to be confused and quickly left the area. Police are looking for a female, 40 – 50 years of age, approximately 5’3” in height, medium build, native or olive skin, brown hair pulled under a hat, a bland complexion wearing no make-up.

Police are asking the public to immediately contact the police if they observe persons in residential areas that appear to be going door to door with pamphlets or that appear to be suspicious. Police are also asking residents to ensure that they secure their home even while they are out for short periods of time such as doing yard work or sitting at the rear of their property. It is also suggested that people keep their valuable jewellery locked up or in a hidden in a discreet location.

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