Canadian Retailers Realize Sharp Drop in Gas Theft

Coordinated approach among police and gas station personnel has led to a dramatic decrease in gas theft in Moncton, New Brunswick.

July 28, 2011

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK ?" Police and gas station owners and staff in Moncton, New Brunswick have been working together dramatically reducing the number of gasoline drive-offs that were previously rampant in the area, Times & Transcript reports.

"So far so good," said Mike Saucier who runs Canadian Tire gas station in Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview, adding that thieves now realize that they are likely to get caught if they drive away without paying for fuel. "We??ve got it down to a dull roar ?? because we??re being vigilant."

Gas drive-offs in the area began climbing sharply in 2008 as fuel prices rose, a trend that continued through last year, when station owners and the regional police (RCMP) finally met to plot a strategy to combat the crimes.

The strategy involves training gas station staff to watch for cars with obscured or missing license plates, a key attribute of a gas drive-off. Additionally, police have been aggressively looking for thieves while broadcasting descriptions of them and their vehicles to all regional officers. Finally, pump surveillance has been beefed up, with the pumps furthest away from a store??s windows switching to pay-at-the-pump mode.

Magnetic Hill Esso owner Jason Lutes erects a large sign with fluorescent letters describing the people and their vehicles who stole from him, a Scarlet Letter approach that he said is deterring theft.

Police routinely gather data on gas-and-dash thefts, using them to detect a crime pattern, as they did in the recent case of a criminal who stole fuel from stations in Moncton, Riverview and Shediac.

"They were able to link them, and he did seven days in jail," Saucier said. "And he had to pay us back, too."

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