Kyle Bially moved from Winnipeg to Niverville to raise his family in a safer, quieter community. However, a string of property crimes in the area has him feeling uneasy.
“There’s more break-ins here than there are probably almost in Winnipeg, it seems,” Bially said.
Last fall, Bially’s garage was broken into. He was able to chase the intruder away, but they stole items from his truck, including his wallet. Bially said the thief racked up a credit card bill at a Winnipeg convenience store.
“That’s kind of the unfortunate case of being here. They know that there are larger homes and a nice, new community here, and it seems like there’s a half-hour response time for the RCMP,” he said.
Numbers show property crimes have been on the rise in Niverville.
According to RCMP figures, there have been 45 property crimes between January 1 and March 31. That’s up from 31 during the same period last year. Police said 21 of this year’s property crimes have been break-ins.
Overnight Friday, there were two more properties hit. Police said a car and a shed were broken into.
Niverville Deputy Mayor John Funk said any amount of property crime is too high, but he doesn’t characterize it as a major issue in the community. Even so, he said council has stepped up crime prevention and education.
"Nowadays, we have 30-some people that are trained and on the town crime prevention program. They go out with the town truck that has a front and rear camera and all the safety equipment,” he said.
The town also introduced a grant program for businesses, schools and churches to install safety cameras.
Bially installed one of his own after his break-in. He said it’s offered his family a bit more peace of mind, but not much optimism that the problem will go away.
“You wonder, ‘how can we stop this? Why are we being targeted so much?’ It’s hard to really know,” he said.
