The Grande Prairie RCMP is reminding residents of the importance of keeping records of serial numbers of items in their homes as an extra line of defence against theft.
The reminder comes after mounties received a call about a suspicious person in a southside parking lot of Grande Prairie in mid-February during which officers found a man reportedly in possession of a stolen bike.
Sergeant Shawn Graham says in that case, like many, the bike was determined to be stolen after they were able to trace it back to the rightful owner, who had previously registered the bike.
“They run the serial number, it comes back stolen, and the bike went back to the owner. That is something very simple, but the bike went back to the owner because we had the serial number,” he says.
“It’s one of the most often overlooked because people often to a make and model, but serial numbers or something marked in a way to identify the owner just takes that few seconds and the result is if your stuff gets stolen it can be tracked back to you.”
Graham says, like many other proactive approaches to protecting property, getting into good habits like recording serial numbers can go a long way. He says even when it comes to reporting the crime, the more information available that police can obtain, the better.
“We are trying to get it back and all we can remember is it’s a blue sony TV, and we don’t have a serial number or anything. It’s very specific, but it links it to the owner.”