Election signs defaced by vandals (photo)

CITY POLICE NEWS RELEASE

************************* Election signs vandalized Numerous election signs were vandalized in the areas of Bay Street at Dennis Street [shown], John Street near Wellington West, Pim at Wemyess Street and Albert Street West.

The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service has received several complaints of election sign being stolen and damaged.

They would like to once again remind the public that the intentional act of vandalism or theft of election signs is a criminal offence.

Break and enter reports

A residence in the 100 block of Southwood Drive was entered on Friday during the day.

A television was reported stolen.

A residence in the 600 block of Wellington Street East was entered on October 18 around 1:41 a.m.

A PS3 and cash were reported stolen.

A residence in the 1000 block of Queen Street East was entered on October 17.

An iPod, an Acer and a Toshiba Laptop were reported stolen.

A residence in the 500 block of Parliament Street was entered on Friday or Saturday.

A 42-inch LG Plasma Television and an Xbox 360 were reported stolen.

Theft reports

Numerous Coke vending machines were broken into on the October 14, 15 at the Dennis Street Mini-Mart.

A large amount of change was reported stolen.

A purse was stolen from a table at a local downtown bar on Sunday.

An envelope containing some cash was reported stolen from a desk area at a business on March Street.

Numerous vehicles were entered in parking lots in the downtown area on Saturday and Sunday, on Pim Street and on Powley Road.

Some of the items stolen included four purses, a Garmin GPS unit and cash. Once again, City police would like to remind the public to lock their doors and do not leave valuables inside your vehicle.

If you leave items in your vehicle and they're visible, the chances your vehicle will get broken into increase greatly.

Very few auto break-ins are "random."

The thieves usually see something out in the open.

Valuable items that thieves target are GPS units, MP3 players, credit cards, laptops, cameras, money, purses, wallets, packages and so forth.

If you can't take the items with you, secure them in a safe place in your vehicle, like a locked glove compartment or your trunk.

Police ask the public if they see anyone suspicious or that appear to be checking vehicles, please contact City police immediately.

Purse snatching incidents under investigation Two more purse snatching incidents from shopping carts were reported over the past weekend.

The first incident was reported at 8:24 p.m. inside the Zellers store in the Station Mall and the second at around 8:20 p.m. inside the Wal-Mart.

The victims were inside shopping and their purses war stolen from the shopping carts.

The investigation into these incidents is ongoing and officers will be reviewing store video security tapes.

Last week a female exiting the Metro Grocery Store at Churchill Plaza around 11:12 p.m. had her purse stolen from her grocery cart.

The two male suspects were standing just outside the entrance when the purse was grabbed from the cart.

The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service would like to remind the public of purse snatching prevention tips:

- The best way to avoid purse snatching is not to carry a purse. This is not really as impractical as it may seem since one of the biggest reasons for carrying a purse is force of habit. It might be well worth modifying the habit in order to reduce the opportunity for crime

- If you must carry a purse, carry house keys separately. That way, if your purse is lost or stolen, the keys won't be there along with your address. Try carrying the keys on a chain around your neck or on a rubber band around your wrist

- Carry your purse across your shoulder and chest, close to your body, preferably in front, under your jacket or use a backpack/fanny pack. Make it harder for the criminal and hopefully he or she won’t bother you. Do not leave the purse in a grocery cart, inside or outside a store

- Never carry large amounts of cash. Use checks to pay for all bills, groceries and other purchases. Many banks provide checking accounts with no monthly service charge to persons over 65 (you pay only for the printing of the checks)

- Try keeping a small amount of cash and/or a credit card in either a wallet or a compact cosmetic case to be carried in a concealed coat pocket. Women can have small hidden pockets sewn on the inside of their coats for the same purpose

- If you need to withdraw savings for a special purchase, get the amount as a check from the bank, not in cash.

If you have any information regarding these crimes, or any other crime, call at 942-7867 or 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), submit an e-tip from the Crime Stoppers website or send a text to keyword SSM to the short code number 274637.

What do you do if someone tries to steal your purse?

Avoid wrapping the strap around your wrist; you're likely to get hurt if a robber yanks hard.

If someone tries to steal your purse, let it go.

There should be nothing in your purse that you cannot replace.

You, on the other hand, are irreplaceable.

If you try to hang onto your purse there is a good chance that you may be hurt.

Make sure that you have a photocopy of all of the cards and identification in your purse.

This will make it easier to report and replace them.

Carry as little as possible.

You don’t need to carry all your credit cards or your birth certificate.

Try to be a good witness.

Remember as much as you can about the suspect.

If safe to do so, watch what direction he or she goes in.

If they get into a car, try to get the license plate number (or as much of the plate number as possible).

This information may help identify the suspect.

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