Parking meter vandals hit 39 machines over the past week, according to police, despite two arrests made last month.
On Monday, March 2, Vernon North Okanagan RCMP learned of 21 parking meters targeted over the weekend. Police were advised of another 18 meters hit on Friday, March 6.
“This is a crime that can occur relatively quickly as the thief can be in and out of a meter in a matter of minutes,” media relations officer Cpl. Tania Finn said.
“We know that one individual can cause substantial damage to a number of machines in a very short period,” she said. “Unfortunately, it appears there is more than on thief targeting the meters here in Vernon.”
Police received a call Monday around 5:45 a.m. from an alert resident regarding a suspicious man in a hoodie breaking into meters on 33rd Street. They attended, but were unable to locate the suspect.
Later that same afternoon, police got another call about a man on a bike breaking into the meters but officers were unable to attend in time to locate the suspect.
No suspects have been identified in the latest string of thefts and anyone with information of these incidents is urged to contact the non-emergency line at 250-545-7171, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at nokscrimestoppers.com.
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Caitlin.clow@vernonmorningstar.com
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