Yellowknife (Sep 06/04) - Harvey Bourgeois, owner of the Monkey Tree restaurant and bar, recalls being jarred from his sleep early one morning last month by the piercing ring of his cell phone.

Police arrest a man in downtown Yellowknife. Though unrelated to this photograph, break and enters have been on the rise throughout Yellowknife in the last several months. - NNSL file photo

On the other end was an employee of a security company, who told him a burglar alarm had gone off at the Monkey Tree, a business he has owned since 1989.

Bourgeois raced to the bar to find the back door had been pried open. After a quick scan, he made his way into the main office, where he was greeted by the sight of an empty safe. Just hours earlier, that safe had contained thousands of dollars.

"Who can you trust anymore?" Bourgeois asked Friday afternoon. "It's so frustrating."

Bourgeois' experience is emblematic of a larger pattern that shows break and enters in Yellowknife have skyrocketed by more than 400 per cent since 2000, according to statistics provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

During the same period, arrests for possession and trafficking of cocaine increased by exactly 400 per cent, leading police to believe the jump in burglaries is closely linked to addicts desperate for a fix.

"There is a definite correlation between property crimes and crack-cocaine use," said Cpl. Larry O'Brien, with the RCMP's Drug Awareness Division. "The simple fact is, drugs cost money."

The short-term statistics also demonstrate a sharp increase in the number of break and enters in Yellowknife -- from 26 in April to 40 in June and 43 in August.

Busy night for break-ins

The night of the Monkey Tree break-in, Aug. 31, two other business in the Kam Lake area were also hit -- the Multiplex and the city's garage.

Two weeks ago, thieves targeted a series of businesses on Old Airport Road, and in early August, more than $5,000 was taken from a safe at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

Police believe the burglaries from Aug. 31 are related, but investigators aren't sure if they are connected to the other crimes, said RCMP Const. Kerri Riehl.

"These types of things tend to go in spurts," said Riehl. "Criminals will just keep committing break and enters until they get caught."

The recent spike in break and enters had led to speculation that a burglary ring may be operating in the city -- a theory that may have seemed far-fetched until police broke up a loosely organized crime syndicate earlier this year.

Investigators arrested more than a dozen suspects linked to the crime ring, which specialized in trading stolen merchandise -- everything from computers to artwork to frozen beef -- for crack-cocaine.

The massive cache of stolen goods, valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, was discovered at a downtown apartment complex. Police eventually linked the ring to nearly 60 per cent of the break and enters committed between November 2003 and January 2004.

O'Brien declined to comment on the details of the current police investigations or whether a crime ring was operating in the city. But he said, as a matter of course, officers take a close look at suspects with drug-related records when investigating break and enters.

Bourgeois however, is convinced the thief -- or thieves -- who targeted his business was looking for drug money.

"Without a doubt," he said. "The drug problem in our city is getting worse."

In 2003, cocaine arrests in Yellowknife were the second highest they had been in 17 years. The only year they were higher was 2001, when police netted dozens of traffickers during a high-profile sting operation called Operation Guiness.

While Bourgeois saw thousands of dollars disappear in under 10 minutes the night of the Monkey Tree burglary, he said he learned a valuable lesson about running a business in Yellowknife.

"Business people have to be more aware. Crime is increasing in the city and you need to take steps to prevent it from happening to you."

After the break-in, Bourgeois spent nearly $10,000 upgrading his security system with cameras and motion detectors.

Riehl suggested business people and homeowners take precautions as well, but they don't necessarily need to spend thousands on a top of the line security system.

"You can do basic things like locking your doors, putting a stick in your window or improving lighting," she said.