An Oro-Medonte woman and her husband were awake, as the lights being on should have signalled to anyone.
Yet, someone stole their $1,600 barbecue right out of the backyard on April 9.
“It was 11:15 p.m. We were up and even heard something,” said Victoria, who didn't want her last name used. “My husband figured it was an animal or nothing to worry about, so we left it.”
Video surveillance at the home, located just outside the Barrie city limits, caught the two culprits as they carried the barbecue through the yard.
The family called the OPP, who told them that theft has been rampant in Barrie, Oro-Medonte and Orillia ever since the start of COVID-19 and social-distancing measures.
From talking to her neighbours, Victoria learned there had been vehicles entered at night, but what shocked and scared her most was the brazeness of the barbecue theft.
“It wasn’t like it was 2 a.m. or something. It was still a house where people were awake,” Victoria told BarrieToday. “They jumped the fence, cut the gas line attached to the barbecue, carried it through the back and down our driveway to their truck.
"It blows my mind," she added.
A neighbour told Victoria they saw the truck and it was either white or silver.
Making matters worse is that Victoria and her husband are front-line health-care workers and already feel unsafe at their places of work, but now have a similar feeling within the walls of their own home.
“It really scares me how they just didn’t care and they were likely scoping the house out previously before stealing it," Victoria said.
Provincial police say they haven't seen a noticeable increase in crime since COVID-19 took root.
OPP Const. Martin Hill told BarrieToday that it would seem crime has been the same since the beginning of the health crisis, but there's possibly a difference in the crimes committed.
"I believe the feeling is that crime is about status quo. There were 93 Criminal Code briefs in the first two weeks, which is about the same," said Hill. "I am sure if we delved deeper into the numbers the types of crimes people are committing would be a bit different, but for the most part not much has changed."
Meanwhile in the city of Barrie, which has its own municipal police department, communication co-ordinator Peter Leon said there have been a number of crimes of opportunity reported, especially when the COVID-19 crisis first began.
“For some people, these are challenging times and many reports of entered vehicles are coming in,” Leon told BarrieToday.
“We suggest, as we always do, to make sure your car doors are locked, your valuables are put away and items on your property are secured," he added.
Victoria knows they aren't likely to get their barbecue back, but she hopes her story will help someone else not be victimized the same way.
“I don’t think these guys will be caught. I hope so, but I just want everyone to be aware that stuff is being taken at all hours of the day,” she said.
