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Earlier this month, Orléans resident Greg Shore created a Facebook group called It’s Your City, Let’s All Help Make Orléans Safe after his 14-year-old son was chased by a group of boys in Avalon.

It soon had thousands of members.

“This really does need to stop,” Shore said. “The swarming is out of control. Time to step up, parents. Our kids should feel safe travelling to a friend’s house or hanging out in a field, playing.”

Last August, Ottawa police reported a dramatic increase in the number of swarmings and personal robberies for the first time in many years although they don’t point to a particular problem in Orléans. Swarmings are up 24 per cent compared with 2016, and personal robberies are up 55 per cent, including a number of swarmings in the east end.

Const. Megan Arbuthnot explains what a swarming is and how to protect yourself in a blog on the city police website.

“Simply stated, it is a robbery — a theft with violence — that involves at least two or more suspects applying force (or the implied threat of force) on a victim in order to steal their property,” she explained. “Swarmings are one of the most random crimes that police respond to and one of the more challenging to solve.”

Tips include keeping valuables hidden, avoiding shortcuts and staying aware of your surroundings, Arbuthnot warned.

“Keep your eyes up, your ears open and change course if you have to,” she wrote. “It’s important to be aware of your surroundings and people in your immediate space. Recognize that if a group of people appear to be taking precautions to cover up or disguise their faces as they approach you, the smart thing to do is turn around and try to get back amongst a crowd.”

If you are targeted, “do not resist, argue, negotiate or fight as you could end up being unnecessarily hurt” and call police as soon as it’s safe.

Being robbed is a traumatic event, Arbuthnot wrote. “However you can help yourself and the police by trying to get as accurate descriptions of the suspects as possible and calling 911 as soon as practicable. Don’t wait!

“Police officers in the vicinity, with accurate suspect descriptors to watch out for, are the best chance we have of catching these people.”

— With files from Joanne Laucius