By Staff
November 29th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police want to identify two individuals involved in several thefts that have occurred in Oakville and Burlington. The individuals have attended grocery stores and stolen wallets and purses from unattended shopping carts.
On November 3, 2017, the two suspects attended the Whole Foods grocery store, located at 301 Cornwall Road, Oakville. While the victim left her buggy unattended for a brief period, the unknown female suspect stole the victim’s wallet. The unknown male suspect appeared to be acting as a look-out while the female committed the theft.
It takes place in seconds – she wasn’t looking – he was.
On November, 26, 2017, the same two suspects attended the Metro grocery store, located at 1521 Rebecca Street, Oakville. During this incident, the suspects stole the victim’s purse while she left her shopping cart unattended. The suspects quickly fled the store after committing the theft.
On November 27, 2017, the suspects attended the Food Basics grocery store, located at 3365 Fairview Street, Burlington. During this incident, the suspects stole the victim’s purse as she attended a cooler to select a carton of milk. Once again, the suspects fled the store immediately after the theft.
During this busy Holiday Season, Halton Regional Police are reminding residents to keep a close eye on their purses and wallets. Residents should be aware of their surroundings and be alert for distraction type thefts when shopping in the grocery stores, malls and other retail business.
Residents are reminded to only carry the necessary identification such as Driver’s Licence or Health Card, and should try to minimize this potential loss by leaving their SIN card, birth certificate and passports securely at home.
If you become a victim of a purse or wallet theft please contact your financial services providers, cancel your cards and then call the Halton Regional Police to file a report.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Detective Constable Derek Gray of the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext: 2344. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
Chris……The article was specifically adressing the problem of leaving purses unattended in a supermarket trolley. This is where women need to take better care and keep hold of their belongings. Of course, street muggings are a completely different scenario and muggers need to be strictly dealt with, especially when targeting the elderly. My comment was not to blame the victim in any way but to make women think twice about turning their backs on their purses.
Way to blame the victim, Evan. What about the women (young and old) that have their purses pulled right off of their shoulder or their arm? It doesn’t matter when there are opportunistic criminals watching for their moment.
Have a heart for the victim. And maybe next time you see someone who has left their purse in the cart, have a look around and see if there is someone suspicious watching. We should look out for one another.
I see women leaving their purses in the shopping carts all the time. I have seen them walk away and be rummaging in a freezer and their purse is sitting there unattended. Women have to take responsibility and more care of their items and not give thieves the opportunity. Sling yout purse over your body or keep it over your arm but NEVER sit it in the cart and turn away. Plain silly. The sheer stress of having to replace credit cards, ID cards, bank cards, driving licences etc should be enough to put anyone off leaving their belongings unattended.