Grimsby businesses suffer four break-ins during the month of April

Four break and enters targetting businesses occured in Grimsby since April 1, say Niagara Regional Police (NRP).

Three break-ins targetting restaurants in downtown Grimsby occured on April 10, 13, and 14.

The fourth break and enter took place at a commercial compound near the South Service Rd. and Kerman Ave. on April 10.

The NRP have not released the names or addresses of the businesses involved as investigations into each of these incidents is on-going.

“Detectives are continuing to develop suspect information,” said NRP Cst. Phil Gavin of NRP’s media relations department.

“We would not want to speculate if it was the same suspects.”

The NRP released a list of crime prevention tips to help business owners protect their property. Many are geared towards businesses closed for an extended period of time, such as the current forced closure of non-essential businesses.

Owners ought to conduct regular checks on their business property, which should help them notice if something has been disturbed.

They should also remove all valuables from store-front displays as well as from cash registers. Placing the empty cash tray on the counter in plain view to signal that there’s no money inside.

Owners can help police by removing signage from front windows to give officers an unobstructed view inside during patrols. Keeping some lighting on inside will provide surveillance opportunities during the evening.

Owners should consider installing an alarm system if they do not already have one or should update its contact list if they do.

They should also consider installing a high quality surveillance camera that can be monitored online by themselves and/or management.

Police suggest posting clear signage on doors or windows to indicate that the premises are monitored by an alarm company; that no money is kept on the premises and contact information for police and the business owner in case a member of the public sees damage to the property or suspicious activity.

During extended closures, business owners should clean all glass surfaces and create a tracking log of when this cleaning was completed. This may help investigators with suspect fingerprints in the event of a break-in.

Applying a laminate on all windows and glass doors will prevent the glass from being broken from blunt force.

Although damage to glass will occur in a break-in attempt, it will greatly discourage or prevent entry, according to NRP.

Owners can also install latch guards on doors to protect against prying including on secondary doors such as employee and loading entrances.

The investigation into these four break and enters is ongoing. The NRP posts updates for on-going crimes and investigations to their website:
niagarapolice.ca