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The Alberta RCMP is asking drivers to lock their vehicles this summer, saying campsites and trailheads are common targets for thieves.
The force issued the reminder Monday from Edmonton. It listed several steps drivers can take to protect vehicles, trailers and gear during the summer months.
Police say a vehicle should be locked even if the owner is standing close by.
“It only takes one moment of inattention for someone to take your belongings,” the RCMP said in the release.
Officers also warn against leaving a vehicle running while unattended. The release called theft of vehicles a crime of opportunity. “A quick trip into the convenience store is all the time a thief needs to steal a running vehicle”, it said.
Keys, garage door openers and documents holding personal information should never be left in a vehicle, as those items can be used to steal the vehicle or to get inside the owners home.
Other tips deal with campsites. Police say valuables should be hidden from view and off highways and vehicles, bikes and kayaks locked up. They suggest window covers to hide a vehicle’s interior and motion sensor lights outside recreational vehicles. Trailer owners are told to use a hitch lock.
Windows should be closed even on hot days, the release says. A locked screen door on an RV can add security and still let air move through, according to police.
The reminder follows numbers the force released in May. Alberta RCMP recorded 7,214 motor vehicle thefts and 5,134 thefts from vehicles in it’s jurisdiction in 2025, down from 8,272 and 5,998 the year before. Half-ton trucks were the most stolen type of vehicle.
In contrast, the city has drawn notice in industry data. The Insurance Bureau of Canada placed Medicine Hat among Alberta’s top five communities for growth in auto theft between 2021 and 2024, an increase of 36 per cent.
Trailers have also been taken nearby this year. In June, Brooks RCMP asked the public for help identifying two people who towed a utility trailer off a business lot in the cities southern industrial area.
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