Bad guys like to cruise our community in the wee hours of the morning looking for “crimes of opportunity” – something valuable left in an unlocked vehicle or anything else that they can steal – car mirrors, bicycles, tools, etc.
At around 4:00 a.m. Friday they hit the jackpot in Lynwood Village – a car with the keys left in it! They cheekily used the house key to enter and grab the van truck keys. Then it was time to have “fun.” After smashing through the gate at Lynwood Park and running over a garbage can they tore up the soccer fields while shedding cars parts.
One vehicle was dumped at Our Lady of Peace and the other was found in a Barrhaven quarry. Both vehicles are write-offs.
There have been a number of disturbing incidents in Bells Corners. It’s unclear if things are worse here than in comparable neighbourhoods but many people are concerned and seeking solutions.
This is not the first time that vandals have wreaked havoc in Bells Corners parks – the problem is so bad in Westcliffe that the City is installing an expensive security camera. Before the former LVCA lobbied the City to install the gates it was almost an annual rite of spring to have teens pull wheelies on the soggy soccer field, costing the taxpayer big time. This latest act of insanity will be VERY expensive – the gate is a write-off and possibly it won’t be replaced. Fixing the turf is also not cheap.
So lock up your cars and pay attention to security if you don’t want to be the next victim. Call the police to report crime or anything suspicious – they may not be able to do anything but it could lead to a renewed effort to make Bells Corners as safe as possible.
5 weeks of recent crime in Bells Corners
(thanks to a neighbour for the photos from Lynwood Park)
bellscorners 
keys left in one car
with a house key
that is used to enter house
to get the van key ???
very interesting …..
They also were in the area of Hillside Park/Bell High School and plowed down a speed limit sign on Stinson. I found paperwork for a car on my front lawn the next morning, so I’m guessing it belonged to one of the cars involved.
– I saw a downed speed sign but I didn’t put two and two together.
Maybe the victims would want the paperwork back even if the vehicles are write-offs?
Oops, I was mixed up in my first comment. I meant to say I saw a downed speed limit sign the next morning and paperwork for a car was just found lying on my front lawn (which got me thinking about your blog entry here). It’s already been returned đŸ˜‰
“Little Chicago” stuff, very nasty.
Where are the CARING parents?
Kids should not be out after 11:00 p.m. But I guess parents nowadays are focussed on Audis, monster homes, and oodles of cash.
Their children come as second or even third priorities.
Why? THE MONEY!
They’re more like pseudo-parents trying to make up for their own shortcomings.
Why did they have kids in the first place if they just give them an iPad and tell to get lost? They should be responsible for their children’s actions until they’re 18.
Where are the parents?
Besides vandalism in our area there are also thieves. I remember last summer the Ottawa Police came by warning of kids who had been spotted breaking into cars to steal “valuables.” My partner’s car was broken into and they dug through the glove box and stole his GPS. You can say shame on us for keeping it inside the car, but, lo and behold, our neighbour’s car was also broken into, along with several others.
We didn’t feel safe for weeks afterwards. Finally this year we were feeling comfortable again, and his ORYX T125 mountain bike (all black with yellow lettering) was stolen from our backyard on Sonnet Crescent on the night of Tuesday May 9th. I’ve seen a lot of kids lurking around at night, weekend AND weeknight lately, and although I don’t want to be judgmental, I would not be shocked if it’s the same kind of kids who perform other destructive work in and around Bell Corners.
I find it just so sad that I’m scared of the teenagers lurking around at night – and wondering why they are not home at midnight on a Tuesday night. Where are the parents? I’m in my mid-thirties and I never thought that the generation(s) after me would intimidate me to this extent…. *sigh*
On another note, is there a place to post this “stolen bike information” other than Kijiji?
– Sorry for your losses. There should maybe be a special place in Hades reserved for bike thieves.
I wish there were an easy solution – this guy tried to do something but it was VERY tough slogging.
I don’t see the problem as teenagers being out late. I am also in my 30s and, as a teenager, I was often out late.
I even think that a certain level of mischief is good and important to development.
The difference is that in my day mischief was underage drinking, not car theft and joyriding.
The “social mindset” we’re experiencing has led to a rapid diminishing of agency and personal responsibility. We’re now seeing the results of that shift, and it is SAD — not only because of the increased number of little punks, but also – so many unhappy teens/early-twenties! While not engaging in blatantly anti-social behaviour, many still suffer from being either too soft or too unsupported.
Many have a gigantic case of unjustified entitlement. The entire generation just seems broken.