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Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 8-12 BREASTS 1.36 kg Garlic Shrimp 9-12 PIECES 340 g Breaded Haddock Fillets 6-11 PIECES 907 g Beer and Chipotle Fall Off the Bone® Back Ribs 510 g - 680 g CHOOSE FROM 5 VARIETIES. 1599SAVE $3 1599each save $3each per lb $899 save $10 2699 Report 2020 -- is not partic- ularly unique to Oakville or the region as a whole. Ac- cording to police, there were 266 residential break- ins across Halton just last year. The crimes are often fair- ly simple operations. Jason, an Oakville resi- dent who for safety con- cerns requested his last name not be published, was recently the victim of a break-in. In his case, two men walked up to the front door of his home one Friday afternoon and in less than five seconds popped open the door with a pry bar. Jason and his family were away that weekend. They did have an alarm sys- tem, but that didn't deter burglars from entering. It did, however, seem to limit their presence in the house to roughly three minutes. The thieves went straight for the master bed- room, where they went through every drawer and closet, including suitcases. "The experience made for a few sleepless nights and a sense of violation that we have not felt before," said Jason. "(We had) regrets of not doing more to better protect ourselves against this crime." Following the break-in, the family changed their be- haviour. They are now more diligent with activating the alarm system and leave the lights on in the home when out. "I wish I knew how easy it was for someone to break into a house and (about) the criminals' disregard for a security and surveillance system," Jason said. "Com- mon valuable hiding spots were obvious to these crimi- nals and needed to be reas- sessed. I recommend that if you have any valuables, that you install a proper safe for those items when not in use." There have been some notable changes in the pat- tern of residential break-ins around the region, accord- ing to police. There was a sizable drop in the quantity of this type of crime from 2019 to 2020. In 2019, there were 513 recorded break- ins, while in 2020, that num- ber fell to 257. Last year, the number stayed at roughly the same point with 266 re- corded incidents. Const. Steve Elms of the Halton Regional Police Ser- vice said it's impossible to speculate why exactly there has been such a significant drop, but it is feasible that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect. "A large proportion of residential break-and-en- ters occur while residents are not home. It is possible that these types of crimes may have decreased merely due to the fact that suspects did not commit them as of- ten because residents were physically at home more," said Elms. Police have a number of tips to make properties less likely to be targeted for bur- glary. They advise that resi- dents install secure locks on all doors and windows, store valuable items out of sight, ensure doors have sturdy frame, and have a neighbour pick up deliver- ies when away for a pro- longed period of time. Colin Jessome, executive director of Halton Crime Stoppers, has a number of tips as well. "Security cameras, emergency lights and sur- veillance systems are a great start, as they can de- ter someone looking for an easy target. The best way to secure yourself is to share with your trusted neigh- bours of any vacation or away plans. Neighbour- hoods where residents are actively calling out suspi- cious activity will lessen the likeliness of being a victim," said Jessome. Crime Stoppers is very active around break-ins, and the organization regu- larly shares dash cam and home surveillance videos in the hopes of identifying thieves. They receive hun- dreds of tips every month. Anyone who is a victim of a break-in is encouraged to call 911. Crime Stoppers will then share your videos, pics and information to help identify the suspects. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: While the number has dropped in recent years- , residential break-ins re- main a regular occurrence across Halton. With that said, we wanted to examine how this impacts victims and what can be done to minimize the risk to resi- dents' homes. NEWS Continued from page 3 POLICE OFFER SAFETY TIPS TO HOMEOWNERS Metroland graphic Halton Residential Break and Enters 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 576 556 513 257 266