Police warn 'heartbreaking' distraction thefts could rise in the summer

Lauren Vanderdeen · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 21, 2025 10:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Police successful the Lower Mainland are informing the longer, brighter days of summertime mean distraction thefts, in which robbers rapidly effort to confuse victims while stealing from them, are expected to increase.

Jewelry, valuables and wealth are often stolen successful the thefts, which person been a occupation for years, according to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD). 

Richard Jeha, a hairstylist and proprietor of Richard Jeha Salon, said helium was robbed of treasured jewelry — a bracelet from a loved 1 and a transverse connected a golden concatenation — that helium was wearing, portion walking his canine successful Vancouver's Kerrisdale neighbourhood earlier this month.

Jeha said it was inactive airy out when helium was approached by a pistillate offering him a strange-looking ring. She proceeded to ask him for the bracelet helium was wearing.

It was a gift from a loved 1 successful Lebanon, Jeha told CBC's On the Coast.

The pistillate said her husband, waiting successful a adjacent car with a small child, would wage for Jeha's bracelet.

"I said, 'No, no, no, I don't privation immoderate of that.' ... Anyway, she came from down me, grabbed my elbow and pushed it into his window."

The antheral successful the conveyance grabbed Jeha's hand, which the pistillate was holding, and slid his manus nether the bracelet.

"He enactment his finger and conscionable yanked it disconnected me," Jeha said.

The antheral besides stole Jeha's transverse necklace, which helium had had since helium was 5 years old.

Jeha tried to outcry astatine the couple, but to nary avail.

"It wasn't much than a infinitesimal oregon truthful that she's successful the car, and they took off."

Two boys helped Jeha telephone 911 aft the incident.

Police acrophobic astir distraction thefts

The VPD said the incidental is precise akin to different distraction thefts, nevertheless sometimes radical aren't adjacent alert they're being robbed.

"This has been going connected for years and years and years. It's a precise blase radical that's doing this," Const. Tania Visintin said.

About 70 cases of distraction theft person been reported to VPD since the opening of the year, according to Visintin.

She said distraction thefts commonly occur in residential areas; the southbound and southeast parts of Vancouver are peculiar hotspots for this benignant of crime, perchance due to the fact that determination are much homes.

Visintin said a communal strategy the robbers usage is to attack a unfortunate with a sob story. She noted they tin travel up to victims successful yards oregon adjacent connected porches oregon patios.

"It's not conscionable 1 group; it's respective groups, truthful it does marque catching them precise hard for us. But due to the fact that there's such an summation close now, we're doing a batch of work, particularly down the scenes, a batch of covert things that I can't unluckily talk about," Visintin said.

"We're taking this arsenic a precedence due to the fact that these are guiltless radical that are getting targeted, and it's precise heartbreaking to see."

Police successful different Lower Mainland cities person besides sent retired warnings astir distraction thefts.

Burnaby RCMP said three thefts successful caller weeks person resulted successful 2 victims losing household heirlooms.

In March, Surrey Police Service noted determination had been much than a twelve incidents of distraction theft successful the archetypal 3 months of the year.

If you are approached by a alien and consciousness uncomfortable, constabulary urge yelling and making sound to effort pull the attraction of others nearby.

Jeha said helium wished helium would person not visibly worn his transverse implicit his shirt.

"That was something, a well-learned lesson."

But Jeha said the incidental hasn't changed however helium feels astir his neighbourhood and that helium continues to consciousness harmless walking in his community.