Mayor calls community meeting
Kerry McCluskey & Margaret McKay
Northern News Services
Kugluktuk (Jan 29/01) - The latest in a series of break-ins has spurred Stanley Anablak to act.
The mayor of Kugluktuk has organized a meeting with local business owners to address the recent the problem and to look for a solution.
"I'm concerned and I'm not going to wait for it to happen again," said Anablak.
Anablak called the meeting just 24 hours after the Enokhok Building was broken into.
Thieves got away with an undisclosed amount of cash, causing extensive damage in the process.
RCMP Cpl. Andy White of the Kugluktuk detachment said the break-in was discovered by hamlet employees when they arrived for work at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 23. The hamlet office is located in the building and it also houses offices for the Department of Sustainable Development and Department of Education.
Three safes were damaged, two extensively, as the thieves looked for money.
White said while the amount of cash stolen wasn't extremely high, the damage to the building itself was significant.
"I wouldn't even hazard a guess because of the number of windows and doors that were smashed. It will take them a while to get that," said White.
One estimate put the value of damage to the building at $8,000. Police have no suspects.
This break-in and two others in recent weeks are a concern to the community.
In December, a man broke into the Northern Store and a group of up to 23 youths broke into the Co-op on New Year's Eve.
White said property crime was unusual for the community.
"It's one of the few places in Canada where person crimes outweigh property crimes.
"Why it's happening, I don't know," he said.
Irene Horn, the co-owner of the Coppermine Inn, also couldn't offer any insight into the recent crime wave. And even though the business has only been broken into once in its 15 years of existence, Horn said she planned to attend Anablak's meeting.
"I don't want this to happen to (our business)," said Horn.
