Guelph Police Service is drawing on the expertise of a number of its units to create a new investigative team to respond to a rise in break and enters and car thefts in the city.
The pilot project, called B.E.A.T., consists of five officers that were drawn from units including the drug squad, detective office and frontline patrol.
“The officers that have been pulled have a variety of backgrounds and investigative experiences throughout the different units they have worked at in the past,” said Const. Josh Fraser of the Guelph Police.
A break and enter or a car theft is an invasion of privacy, said Fraser.
"We can’t look at it as just a petty theft because it does turn peoples’ lives upside down,” he said. "It’s devastating to people.”
B.E.A.T. stands for 'Break and Enter Auto Theft'. Fraser notes 'auto theft' refers to the 'bigger picture' of stealing cars, not people who steal from cars.
“Because we have seen a rise in property-related crimes, like break and enters and stolen vehicles, administration is trying to address this problem," said Fraser.
In 2017, Guelph Police reported 615 break-ins and 169 vehicle thefts. Although they have not been reported officially, Fraser said the number of those crimes investigated in 2018 is higher. People who steal cars often use them to commit other crimes, like thefts and robberies, said Fraser.
“We have seen people steal cars and then drop that car off and steal another car. Those are the people we are targeting,” he said.
The B.E.A.T. team recently used DNA evidence from a April 2018 car theft and made an arrest in the case earlier this month.
Fraser said it is more common now for police to collect DNA along with fingerprints for suspects involved in serious crimes, not just sex-related crimes.
The person alleged to have committed the car theft would have to have had DNA in the system for that arrest to have occurred, said Fraser.
"We are using all of the resources available to us to help combat this issue that we have,” he said.
The B.E.A.T. team is also partnering with The Co-operators, which is providing data used by the investigators.
“They have provided us with some stats in terms of numbers to do with property related crime and vehicle thefts," said Fraser. “As the project goes along, we will continue to partner with them."
The B.E.A.T. team is a pilot project and will operate for 'a couple of months', said Fraser.
"Then they are going to reevaluate where we are and make a decision about going forward,” he said.
