Glanbrook has a very low crime rate, except when it comes to thefts of automobiles and thefts from automobiles, a weekend community policing public meeting heard.

And Hamilton police Insp. Greg Huss says pickup trucks are most desired by thieves because of the high value of stripped down parts.

The Saturday meeting — that is organized annually by Ward 11 Coun. Brenda Johnson — took place days after a man was shot and killed outside a house on Highway 56 while he was allegedly trying to steal a pickup truck.

Peter Khill, 26, has been charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 4, 3 a.m. shooting death of 29-year-old Jon Styres, of Ohsweken.

"Rural areas are being hit for their pickup trucks. On a monthly basis pickup trucks are No. 1," says Huss.

Vehicle thieves are usually after rims and tires, he says, because a set can usually net more than $2,000. Also of high value are airbags, he said.

In 2015, 38 vehicle thefts were reported, along with 78 thefts from vehicles in Glanbrook. That's a slice of 1,235 vehicle thefts and 2,252 vehicle content thefts across the City of Hamilton, which includes Glanbrook.

The number is high in Glanbrook relative to the low population — 22,000 compared to roughly 498,000 in the remaining areas of the city (according to the 2011 census).

Huss says the area has seen a spike in thefts over the past three years.

The meeting about community policing at the Glanbrook Municipal Building is an annual event organized by Johnson. The meeting, attended by a few dozen people, focused mostly on traffic issues. No one brought up the shooting death of Styres or relayed personal stories of having vehicles stolen.

But asked about the shooting after the meeting, Huss said the important thing "is to let the police come and address the situation.

"I think that is the big message that has to be sent. You want to deal with this in the safest matter."

However, neighbour Dustin Woloschuk — who has been supporting Khill online but did not attend the meeting — says it takes time for police to arrive and what happens when a homeowner feels he or she is in danger by a criminal on their property who may or may not be armed.

"My house got broken into 10 years ago. They stole a bunch of stuff from me. To me it is irrelevant this time that it was a truck. Next time they could break into your house. And it could be when you are home. You could get beaten, have a gun put to your head and traumatized for life."

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Johnson noted it is sad to consider that two deaths in the area are connected to property crimes involving pickup trucks. The other death involves the 2013 killing of Ancaster's Tim Bosma, which is currently going through the courts with two defendants charged with first- degree murder.

"It's only a truck," she said, repeating the oft-quoted words of Bosma's widow Sharlene.