Several police forces seeing dip in break-ins since COVID-19 pandemic began

Several police departments in Atlantic Canada say COVID-19 may have led to a dip in criminal activity.

Some police forces in the region say they've observeda significant drop in the number of break-ins this March.

"The number of calls is very low. Break-ins into homes are almost zero because people are staying at home," said Deputy Chief Martin Gaudet of the Fredericton Police Force.

Const. James Cadigan said the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary received six to 10 calls a week regarding break-ins in January and February. But since the beginning of March, the forcehas fieldedjust threeperweek.

The RCMP in Nova Scotiaand in Newfoundland and Labrador also said they've received fewer calls than normal related to break-ins. Nova Scotia RCMP couldn't provide exact figures, but St. John's-basedCpl. Jolene Garlandsaid the average number of weekly break-ins in Newfoundland and Labradorhas gone down significantly compared with the same period over the past four years.

Avoiding 'premature' assumptions

Not all police departments in Atlantic Canada have observed the shift. Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh said this March,New Brunswick RCMP have fielded "relatively the same" number of calls related to break-ins as last year.

"We cannot say precisely what repercussions the situation related to COVID-19 and orders under the Emergencies Act have on crime rates or on call volumes," she said.

"It would be inappropriate to speculate on the motives for the crimes," she added, a message echoed by Halifax Regional Police.

"The numbers of reports vary from month to month due to many factors. It would be premature to attribute any change at this point to any specific factors," said HRPConst. John MacLeod.

Sgt. Kevin Baillie of the Prince Edward IslandRCMP said he doesn't believe there'senough data yet to establish a clear pattern that fewer break-ins are occurring, but said potential thieves might be wary about more than just people being in the house.

"With school out, and many working from home, there are a lot fewer residences vacant during the day, and would-be culprits may be hesitant about going into someone else's residence for fear that they would contract the virus."

Harder to sell stolen goods

Vronique Chadillon-Farinacci, a professor in the Universit de Moncton'ssociology and criminology department, said it's "plausible" that the reduction in the number of break-ins signalled to Atlantic Canadian police departments could be a consequence of COVID-19.

But she said the phenomenon would need to be studied long-term before anything can beknown for certain.

Chadillon-Farinacci said, however, the pandemic may have limited the market for selling stolen goods.

"On one hand, people are staying home, on the other, perhaps, people are afraid to make contact with strangers. So Internet ads are maybe a little less common for goods, whether they're stolen or not," she said,

Chadillon-Farinacci said while the pandemic may have helped quell the prevalence of break-ins, other crime such a domestic violence may see an uptick.

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