Crime Bulletins

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REGINA POLICE SERVICE

Community Crime Awareness Bulletin

The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act

( A New Saskatchewan Government Program)
This Act will improve community safety by targeting and, if necessary, shutting down residential and commercial buildings and land that are regularly used for illegal activities such as producing, selling or using illegal drugs, prostitution, solvent abuse or the unlawful sale and consumption of alcohol. This legislation empowers citizens to take back their neighbourhoods by anonymously reporting problem residences and businesses. It will also hold property owners accountable for threatening or disturbing activities regularly taking place on their property.

What Should I look for in my Neighbourhood?

The following is a list of common signs of illegal activity. Alone, any of these activities or signs may not necessarily mean that drug dealing, drug producing, substance abuse, prostitution or any variety
of other illegal activities are occurring on a property. However, a frequency of the following list of activities or a combination of them occurring on a property may indicate a problem.

* Frequent visitors at all times of the day and night
* Frequent late night activity
* Windows blackened or curtains always drawn
* Visitors with expensive vehicles
* Unfriendly people who appear to be secretive about their activities
* People watching cars suspiciously as they pass by
* Extensive investment in home security
* Strange odours coming from the house or garbage
* Garbage that contains numerous bottles and containers, particularly chemical containers
* Putting garbage out in another neighbours collection area

If you are suspicious of a property in your neighbourhood, do not
investigate it yourself or approach the occupants. Please call the
Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Investigation Unit
immediately at 1866-51-SAFER (1-866-517-2337).

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NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH BULLETIN: 
ADVISORY: FRAUDULENT PHONE SOLICITATION
 
In response to a report of fraudulent solicitation, the Regina Police Service is reminding members of the public to verify the legitimacy of telephone solicitors prior to making a donation or giving out personal information. 
 
One case reported to the Regina Police Service was when an individual called a resident of Regina requesting donations on behalf of the Kin Foundation.  The Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation does not engage in any telephone solicitation. 
 
The Regina Police Service recommends the following smart practice to protect yourself from fraud: never give out your credit card information (unless you are absolutely sure of who you are dealing with).  If someone contacts you and you do not know who he or she is, do not provide your personal information over the phone.  If you have doubts about any telephone solicitation, you may contact Phone Busters, toll free at 1 (888) 495-8501 to register a complaint or to make an inquiry about an organization.
 
Anyone who may have been contacted in this manner and has made a donation is encouraged to contact the Regina Police Service at 777-6500 or Crime Stoppers at
545-TIPS (545-8477).

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH BULLETIN:

Request Assistance - Break and Enter / Mischief's

The Regina Police Service is requesting the assistance from the public in its investigation into Break and Enters and Mischief's that have been occurring in the Lakeridge new development area.

There have been numerous break and enters and mischief/ vandalism to the new homes in the Lakeridge (Northwest) part of the city.  The incidents have been getting more serious to the point where fires are being set inside the new home structures.

As of yet there have been no serious fires and no one has been injured.   Regina Police Service is requesting assistance with identification of suspects and any other information regarding these incidents.  Please contact the Regina Police Service at 777-6500.
 

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH BULLETIN:   CAUTION

Do not ever dial area code 809, 284 and 876 with out recognizing the number.

Do not respond to emails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to call
an "809" area phone number.
This scam has been identified by the National/Fraud Information Center and
is costing victims a lot of money.

There are lots of different permutations of this scam.

You will receive a message on your answering machine or your pager, which
asks you to call a number beginning with area code 809. The reason you're
asked to call varies. It can be to receive information about a family
member who has been ill, to tell you someone has been arrested, died, to let
you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc. In each case, you are told to
call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes
these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

If you call from US or Canada, you will apparently be charge a phenomenal
amount per minute. Or, you'll get a long recorded message. The point is,
they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the
charges. Unfortunately, when you get your phone bill, you will often be
charged a phenomenal amount.

The 809 area code can be used as a "pay-per-call" number, similar to 900
numbers in the US and Canada. Since 809 is not in the US or Canada, it is
not covered by US or Canada regulations of 900 numbers, which require that
you be notified and warned of charges and rates involved when you call a
"pay-per-call" number.

We recommend that no matter how you get the message, if you are asked to
call a number with an 809 area code that you do not recognize, just
disregard the message.

NAME: C.Mildenberger PHONE: 777-6355
ORGANIZATION: REGINA POLICE SERVICE
SGT. COBURN (AUTHORIZATION BY AND/OR SIGNATURE)

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH BULLETIN:

"PHONY BANK INSPECTOR" FRAUD ACTIVE AGAIN

The Regina Police Service Commercial Crime Unit has investigated complaints of the so-called "Phony Bank Inspector" Fraud. In one of the cases the victim was defrauded of a substantial amount of money. Police are concerned that there may be more attempts or victims of this type of fraud and are asking people to be aware that this scam is active again in Regina. Police are also requesting any information that could assist in these investigations.

In one case an employee of the financial institution became suspicious when an elderly female account holder attempted to withdraw a large sum of money. The employee alerted a family member of the elderly woman, who asked that police meet him at that location. Investigation revealed that the victim had received a phone call from an unknown male caller identifying himself as a security person working for her bank. The caller asked the victim to withdraw a large sum of money and then instructed her to meet him at a location just outside the financial institution where she was to turn the money over to him. The caller convinced the victim that he would then place the money back into her account. In this instance, the intervention of the employee prevented the fraud from being completed; however police are also investigating a second, similar case, in which the victim was defrauded of a large sum of money.

In the second incident, police were dispatched to a residence in the 3600 block of Albert Street for a report of a completed Fraud under $5,000. The victim, an elderly female had withdrawn a large amount of cash from her account at a financial institution in the 4200 block of Albert Street, and had, on the instruction of an unknown male caller, turned the money over to an adult male she met at the Southland Mall. The victim described the male as Caucasian, approximately 45 to 50 years old, about 6' tall, with light brown hair, dressed in casual clothing.

Both incidents are under investigation. If anyone witnessed any part of either of the events described above, he or she is asked to contact the Regina Police Service at 777-6500 or Crime Stoppers at 545-8477 (545-TIPS).

The Regina Police Service reminds Regina residents to exercise caution in any phone conversation with individuals requesting financial or personal information.
1) Banks never engage clients in any sort of internal investigations or quality control audits. If you are in doubt, contact your bank or financial institution, by calling the number listed in your phone book, not a phone number suggested by the caller.
2) Police advise that you should never give personal financial information or a Social Insurance Number over the phone in any call where you have not initiated the contact.
3) Police further request that anyone who been contacted by someone claiming to be a bank inspector or bank auditor, should contact the Regina Police Commercial Crime Unit by calling 777-6500.

ORGANIZATION: REGINA POLICE SERVICE
SGT. COBURN (AUTHORIZATION BY AND/OR SIGNATURE)

Holiday Safety/ Crime Prevention

If you're going away on a trip:
1) Make sure your house looks lived in by having a friend or neighbour pick up mail and cut grass.
2) Stop delivery of newspapers.
3) Use timers on lights to give the appearance that someone is home.
4) Have a friend or neighbour check your property while you're away.
5) Don't leave a phone message saying you're out of town.

If parents leave and young people are at home:
1) Set rules for who can visit and how many friends can come over.
2) Have a plan if there's a party that gets out of control, e.g. a responsible adult who can ask people to leave or call police if violence occurs.
3) The noise bylaw is in effect 24 hours a day
4) City parks close at 11:00 p.m.
5) Parking lots are private property and if a business owner asks a large group to leave, they must comply.

General:
1) Always lock your doors, even when you're at home. Lock all doors, even if you're only in the back yard.
2) If you see someone acting suspiciously, watch. Get a description of persons or vehicles, license plates etc. If the person continues to behave suspiciously or if you observe a crime, call police.
3) Join Neighbourhood Watch or similar programs.
4) Lock your bicycles or vehicles, even if you leave them for just a minute...even in your own yard or on your own driveway. Use an anti-theft device for cars.
5) Invest in good locks and good lighting for your home and property.

For Kids:
1) Don't tell callers on the phone that you're home alone. "My Mom is busy, but I can take a message and she'll call you back."
2) Keep doors locked.
3) Don't let strangers into your house.
4) Your parents need to know where you are at all times. If you want to visit a friend or invite a friend over, always ask permission first.
5) With your parents, develop an emergency plan in case of fire, and have a plan to go to a trusted neighbour if you need help.
6) Keep parents' work phone numbers posted by the phone.
CRIME PREVENTION...IT'S IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD.
HAVE A SAFE, HAPPY HOLIDAY!