Brazen break-in part of rash of thefts in Moncton's old west end

Cathy Manuel woke up to a man in her home in Moncton's old west end, inthe latest of what residents are calling a rash of thefts in the neighbourhood.

Around 5 a.m., Manuel thought she heard someone downstairs. At first she assumed it must be her house guest.

"But the more I heard, the more I wondered, should I go down and check on him."

Once on the main floor, she noticed all the lights were on, all her cupboardsand drawers were open, and the door to both her backyard and garage were wide open.

It hit her, "someone was in my house."

She followed the noise and ran out through her attached garage and saw someone on the sidewalk holding a bag. She yelled at theman, asking if he'd been in the house.

"Probably not the wisest decision, but when you're in that moment and somebody has compromised your security it's a decision you take."

He yelled back that it must have been someone else who was in her home, then he ran off.

The thief got in through the garage door, that Manuel had forgotten to close. She said there wasn't a lot stolen, just her debit card, which she cancelled.

"I think it would have been different if bikes were stolen from my garage, or I wasn't home and somebody came in, but the fact that I was home really is what bothered me."

But there were neighbours watching,and they called the police with a detailed descriptions of the thief.

"I think one of the most disheartening things, or concerning things was that my garden shears, the big shears that I would use to cut back my shrubs and trees was in my kitchen, so he wouldhave taken it from my garage to maybe use as a weapon."

Neighbourhood watch

This isn't the first brazen break-in in the Old West End in recent months. Dianne Reddy said that in the last yearshe's had two sets of keys stolen out of her house while she was home.

Earlier this week, two Moncton city councillors and about 120 residents met to talk about the perceived rise in crime.

Coun.Charles Leger said a neighbourhood watch group is in the works. But in the meantime, he said, residents should make sure they report illegal activity to the police and reach out to other levels of government to let them know there are growing problems in the community that could have roots in homelessness and drug addiction.

Peter Ryan was at the meeting and said he'll be volunteering his time to help form the neighbourhood watch walking the streets in the early hours of the morningis something he already does.

"I've got a big black dog, a big Belgian shepherd, and I'm going out there to sort of make sure a presence is known."

Numbers matter

He wears a yellow jacket and walks down the centre of the street, often with a friend, to try to prevent crime.

"We're not out there looking for confrontation. We're just out there to say that, "OK, we see you."

Ryan said he'll be meeting with other volunteers next week to talk about the best way to get a community watch going.

"[It's]only ever going to be as successful as the amount of participants involved," he said.

"We need to have all hands on deck in this particular sense."

Ryan walked around the neighbourhood for an hour and a half starting at 12:30 a.m. Friday. But despite his efforts, just across the street, Cathy Manuel had her house broken into.

Ryan woke up to Manuel yelling. He said he got dressed and went out to see what was happening.

A number of RCMP cruisers pulled up, and a police dog was brought to help find the thief.

An arrest

Insp. Luc Breton, officer in charge of operations at Codiac RCMP, said an arrest was made. He said it's a good example of how the police can respond to crimes when they're called.

"It's kind ofhard to find out about where to focus your manpower when you don't know what's going on in that area."

He was surprised at the amount of property crime that was going unreported. Breton said that since the meeting, RCMP havemade an effort to show a bigger presence in the old west end. He said officers on bicycles have been patrolling the neighbourhood.

Breton said people can help by locking their doors, both to their car and homes. He said many crimes are committed by the same people.

"That's all they do."

Calling police

If police know what's going on, they can track "prolific offenders" more easily. But the victim should understand the police may not respond for a few hours.

"If there is an armed robbery taking place at the same time we prioritize our call."

Breton said he supports a neighbourhood watch program.

"We have to work together, the police alone cannot do it."

But Breton added that people shouldn't take the law into their own hands. He said if someone thinks a stranger is in their house they should go into a room with a phone, close the door and call the police.