At 4:45 in the morning on April 12th, a Vancouver a Block Watch member happened to look out their window and spotted something they felt was suspicious. A person wearing a backpack was prowling through the Kamloops and Dundas Street neighbourhood, testing door handles on cars.

Thanks to the resident’s good observation skills, patience and a quick phone call to 9-1-1, the VPD Dog Squad and patrol officers were able to catch the prowler in the act, breaking into a car.

Thirty-nine year old Brian Donnelly of Vancouver has been charged with theft under $5,000 and being in the possession of break in instruments. Donnelly has been released pending his next court appearance on April 29th at 1:30 p.m.

“Be on the lookout for people walking, meandering or cycling through your neighbourhood,” says Constable Dave Krenz, of the VPD Block Watch Program. “This thief was identified by an alert homeowner who recognized the clothing, profile and suspicious behaviour.”

Join or start a Block Watch program in your neighbourhood and help keep your neighbourhood safe.

Block Watch in Vancouver

The Vancouver Block Watch program started in 1989, and is managed and maintained by a civilian coordinator and one police officer.

In 2009, Block Watch celebrated its 20th year as a VPD community-based crime prevention program. The program currently has approximately 594 active blocks participating, including 1,000 captains and co-captains monitoring the individual neighbourhood Block Watch programs.

With all of the participating households that each team has recruited, that’s an additional 15,600 extra pairs of trained eyes and ears reporting suspicious activity!