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Have you had something stolen?

Surrey RCMP a looking to reunite people with their pilfered belongings.
54807surreyCpl.PaquetSurrey
Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet stands amidst the many stolen items that have been recovered. Police are urging the public to engrave their valuable possessions with something specific like a driver’s licence number to help investigators find the rightful owner.

Power tools, musical instruments, high-end Champagne and grandpa’s ashes.

’Tis the season when the Surrey RCMP’s exhibits area becomes overwhelmed with all kinds of recovered stolen goods.

Unfortunately, there is often an increase in residential break-and-enters during the summer months as people leave windows and patio doors open, leading to more recovered stolen property.

In order to increase the likelihood that you will be reunited with any of your valued items, police recommend taking photos of your possessions, recording serial numbers and keeping those records in a secure location.

You should also engrave or mark your property with something specific like your driver’s licence number. Engravers are available to the public at each of the Surrey RCMP’s district offices.

Last year the Surrey RCMP’s exhibits area recorded more than 1,800 cases of found property. As an example, over 20 per cent of those cases involved recovered bicycles and less than half of those were returned to the original owners because there was no way to track them down. More recently, 12 bikes were brought into exhibits in one day and none had been reported stolen.

“We’ve recovered family heirlooms, diamond rings, unique artwork, you name it,” said Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet. “Our officers and support staff work very hard to try and reunite owners with their property, however it can be very difficult when there’s little to no documentation, or when people don’t report stolen property.”

Anyone with further information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP non-emergency number at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS if they wish to remain anonymous.