Officials insist rumours about a crime spree in Oyama aren’t accurate.
Someone has placed posters throughout the community that refer to a spike in house robberies.
“While I certainly agree with the posters that we should keep things locked up, there is not an outbreak of robberies in Oyama,” said Owen Dickie, a Lake Country councillor.
“Essentially, our community continues to be a safe place to raise a family and where everyone watches out for each other.”
Lake Country experienced 45 break and enters in 2015, and six of those were in Oyama.
The RCMP report that so far in 2016, there have been 33 break and enters in Lake Country, including four in Oyama.
“I believe that the posters are referencing break and enters to new homes which are still under construction but which have reached lock-up stage,” said Sgt. Jayson Lucash, with the RCMP
“These break-ins are also being experienced in other areas of the Okanagan valley. Typically the thieves are targeting large appliances, audio/visual equipment and building supplies.”
Lucash says the police have communicated with the public and Citizens on Patrol about thefts at construction sites.
“We have also liaised with local contractors in an effort to combat the thefts and identify the parties responsible,” he said.