Police in High River, Alta. are asking contractors working for restoration companies to wear identification after homes and businesses destroyed by the recent flooding were targeted by thieves.
In one instance, burglars stole copper wire and pipes from homes in a subdivision. In another case, a man in a truck pulled up to resident Yousra Jomha’s home as she was outside cleaning. He claimed to work for the town and tried to take a metal filing cabinet.
“How wouldyou like it if I went to your front lawn and said, ‘Hi there, I really like whatever you have,’ and I took it and off I went claiming it’s mine and profiting from it,” Jomha told CTV Calgary. “And that’s what happened to a lot of people.”
Katie Vogt, owner of Cakery Bakery, had hauled all of her shop’s equipment outside to dry off and to make it easier to catalogue the damage for her insurance company. Men showed up with a Bobcat, a front-end loader and a garbage trailer and, “Just came in and hauled it away,” Vogt said.
The thieves stole $150,000 worth of mixers, ovens and racks.
“One minute it’s there, one minute it’s gone,” Vogt said.
The Alberta government signed a $45-million contract with Calgary-based Tervita, a company that specializes in disaster remediation, to lead the cleanup effort in High River after flooding devastated the town last month.
Police are asking contractors to wear identification to confirm that they are a contractor tasked with helping the local clean-up effort. They are also advising residents to ask a lot of questions of anyone claiming to work for the town, and to call police if anyone raises their suspicions.
“It’s re-victimizing people,” Const. Jeff McBeth of the High River RCMP detachment told CTV. “Like they haven’t had enough to deal with, then we have some people who come in and take opportunities of a terrible situation and hinder the recovery process.”
With a report from CTV Calgary’s Kevin Green
