Student’s car stolen from Twin Rinks
ICBC campaign reminds students to lock up
February 20, 2007
Angela Wiebe
A Trinity Western University student experienced firsthand the Lower Mainland’s high car theft rates recently when his car was stolen from the parking lot of a local hockey arena.
Third year Brady Cook came out from watching a hockey game at Langley’s Twin Rinks Arena a few weeks ago to find his 1997 Plymouth Neon missing. After checking that it wasn’t a practical joke, the business student called the police, only to be told two days later that his car had been torched.
Cook, who is from Lynden, Washington, said he wasn’t surprised by the news.
“Car theft isn’t near as much of a problem [in the U.S.] as it is in Canada – at least where I’m from,” he noted. Cook said he was familiar with the Fraser Valley’s high crime rate from watching the news and hearing stories from fellow students.
But while car theft is a common occurrence in the Lower Mainland, the Insurance Corporation of B.C. says it’s young people, aged 16-25, who are hit the hardest. According to ICBC’s statistics, this age group is twice as likely to have their vehicle stolen than people who are older, due to the tendency of younger people to drive older cars, park their cars in higher-risk areas, and leave valuables in sight.
In an effort to combat the growing rate of car thefts, ICBC has made February Auto Crime Month in the province, reminding youth to always use an anti-theft device when parking their cars.
Although Cook locked his doors when he parked in Langley, he said he “could have used a club [as well].” Cook wished to remind his fellow students to always hide their valuables, including stereo faceplates.
“Leave nothing in plain sight,” he advised.
While students should apply extra caution when parking their cars in Langley, one place their cars will most likely be safe is the TWU campus.
Security and Parking Services Supervisor Rink Beeksma noted that there hasn’t been a car theft on the university’s campus in the last four years. After years of periodic car thefts, Beeksma said security services decided to implement a gate near the university’s entrance. The gate is lowered every night between 9 and 10 p.m. and raised for the day at 6 a.m. TWU also added the position of an overnight security guard, who monitors every car that leaves campus late at night.
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