Police in the South Okanagan have seen a spike in the number of vehicle thefts across the region to start 2024.

The first quarter statistics from the Penticton South Okanagan Similkameen RCMP Regional Detachment showed 48 auto thefts in smaller communities and rural areas within the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen. During the same period in 2023, there were 36 vehicle thefts.

Sgt. Don Wrigglesworth of the Oliver RCMP detachment said many of the stolen vehicles are commercial pickup trucks. These trucks are then used for thefts of trailers with tools and are often found abandoned elsewhere in the region.

His advice to contractors and construction workers is to avoid the convenience of leaving a trailer at a job site but instead take it with them at the end of the work day.

The statistics were presented to the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen on May 9.

Supt. Beth McAndie of the regional detachment said there was a noticeable increase in auto thefts in March.

In the Penticton rural detachment鈥檚 area, there were eight vehicle thefts in the first quarter of this year, up from five during the same period in 2023. In Okanagan Falls, three vehicle thefts were reported, up from two. The Osoyoos municipal detachment had five auto thefts in the first quarter of the year, up from one during the first quarter of last year. Keremeos saw four vehicle thefts in the first quarter of the year, up from one in the first quarter of last year. In Princeton, seven vehicle thefts were reported, up from three.

Naramata鈥檚 automobile thefts were unchanged with one in the first quarter of last year and this year.

Only two areas saw auto theft numbers decrease to start the year.

In Summerland, three auto thefts were reported in the first quarter of this year, down from four at the same time last year.

The Osoyoos rural statistics are more noticeable, with two vehicle thefts in the first three months of the year. During the same time frame in 2023, there were 11 reported auto thefts.

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