Dartmouth, N.S., residents concerned about spate of vehicle break-ins

A Dartmouth, N.S., neighbourhood is fed up with an uptick in crime.

Some people living in a Dartmouth, N.S., neighbourhood say a recent crime wave has disturbed their usually quiet area.

Daniel Glasner, who has lived in the neighbourhood for four years, says it’s worse when the sun goes down.

“Between the hours of two and four in the morning, people are running roughshod over this neighborhood,” he said.

Glasner says there has been an uptick in thefts and attempted break-ins of everything from backyard sheds to vehicles.

His truck has been targeted multiple times. One time someone used a stick to poke through the top of a window he left slightly open and unlocked the door.

“An electric chainsaw, and some tools. Just little things, change, anything of value,” he said.

“It takes away my sense of safety in the neighborhood,” said Darlene Cossaboom, who moved to the area a few years ago. “I locked my doors, lock my windows. Make sure that before I do retire for the night that it is done.”

Statistics released by the Halifax Regional Police show thefts from vehicles is on the rise across the municipality.

From January to May 2025, police received 584 reports of thefts from motor vehicles. In Dartmouth in 2023, 642 reports were received. There was a bit of a dip to 534 in 2024 and so far this year, police have received 276 calls about someone stealing from a vehicle.

“This is going to come to a head. People are going to be in a situation where they’re going to defend their property and somebody’s going to get hurt. Whether it’s somebody trying to break into something or a homeowner coming out and trying to defend their property, it’s going to come to a head,” said Glasner, who would like to see stepped up patrols late at night and early in the morning.

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