In one case, a thief broke into a home early in the morning and was stealing a wallet before being scared off

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Mounties are warning you to be careful with open windows and patio doors, after two apartments in North Vancouver were broken into in recent weeks. The thieves climbed up to the second and third floors of the buildings.

Construction scaffolding was set up outside of the buildings where these break-ins happened. The thieves climbed the structures to get into the open patio doors of the suites. In both cases, purses and wallets were stolen.

“In one case, between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., somebody came into the unlocked apartment through the patio door, was rummaging through the woman’s purse — stole her wallet — and then was scared off when she came into the living room,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong.

He noted these are “crimes of opportunity.”

“If scaffolding is set up around your building be extra vigilant and secure your doors and windows properly!”

With the warm weather we’ve been having, it is tempting to leave your patio doors and windows open. De Jong said there are steps you can take to secure them while still leaving them open for air flow.

“Depending on the type of door you have, there are locks you can get that allow the door to be open, then still secure from the inside so somebody can’t reach in an unlock it. There are provisions out there to have that open, yet not fully open for somebody to walk through.”

“Go to your local hardware store, a door store, or a door company. Often, these things are set up in the window themselves. The sliding doors will have locking mechanisms,” he added.