Break and enters concern resident
Police say not on the rise

Paula White
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jun 18/99) - At least one Inuvik resident is concerned about the recent number of break-ins around town.

"I think it's time people were made aware of what's going on," said Don Patterson, who has been a resident of Inuvik for a number of years. "This is not the normal. Usually at this time of year there's very few."

Patterson owns a building on Kingmingya Road that was broken into on June 11. He said the thieves broke in by smashing a large hole in the metal door. Nothing was stolen, he said, with the exception of about $30 in coin, but a lot of damage was done.

"It pretty well shows they're just looking for money or booze," he said.

Patterson said the culprits broke into several offices that are located in the building (one of which belongs to Inuvik MLA Floyd Roland) and smashed a glass door. He said on the night of the break-in, he was in the building until about 10 p.m., so the incident occurred sometime between then and 6 a.m. the following morning. Patterson didn't have an estimate on how much damage was done, but he said "it's not going to be cheap."

"This is the third time we've had windows smashed...in the last two months."

But Inuvik RCMP say break-ins are not on the rise. Cpl. Sean Neary said that for a community of this size, the amount of break and enters reported to the RCMP is low by Northern standards. He added that, generally, a series of break and enters can be directly attributed to the same individual or individuals.

"That's how it happens historically," he said. "It's been a handful of people responsible for them and if they are incarcerated or if they're out of town for other reasons, then the level of B and Es is reduced."

Other recent break-ins include the Inuvik Youth Centre, Blue Moon Bistro and the Corner Store on Dolphin Street. Neary said two of the break and enters at these locations occurred on the same evening, which indicates they were most likely committed by the same individuals.

"(It's not) an epidemic by any stretch of the imagination, no," Neary said. "In a month's time, we don't have very many."

Neary added there are several effective deterrents, including alarm systems and making sure door and window jambs are properly repaired and solid, which "reduce the likelihood of these B and Es happening."