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By Sheena Roszell

Local creators of Theft net hoping to launch app this month

Jan 7, 2019 | 9:09 AM

You may have heard of the local crime-tip Facebook page Theft net Grande Prairie.  It launched just one year ago, and to date over $600,000 worth of stolen items have been returned to the owners.

“Most of that is stolen vehicles, some of that is recreational vehicles, and a great number of bicycles, and lower cost-items. They don’t add up to much but they can be very valuable to the owners when they go missing,” explained Darren Boyer, the founder of Theft net Grande Prairie Lightcatch.

The Facebook group works on tips from the public. It relies on proven video footage and pictures and Boyer says their member’s involvement is only to assist the police in providing accurate, timely information.

“As long as we deal in the realm as this is a verified crime then it is safe from false accusations or liabilities.”

Boyer says they have a good working relationship with local RCMP and this is not a vigilante group.

“I believe our trust level has grown, certainly it was a new concept back in January and (the RCMP) gave us some good guidelines to operate by,” he said. “We try not to deal with suspicious activity or falsely accused people and when we operate on that basis and we are discreet and professional, then they appreciate the help from the community.”

He explains that it’s something that when it works well, and it supports the police properly, it can make crime fighting 10 times faster and up to 100 times cheaper,” 

“It’s a very satisfying thing for the people who have been a victim to see their materials come back fast and undamaged.”

Since last January there have been numerous times where the police did not know the name or how to find a suspect and the community has contributed and made a difference in those investigations.

A recent example is where two individuals were caught on video breaking into mailboxes in an apartment building just before Christmas.

“The police, they just didn’t have anything real to work with, so it was hard for them to make a difference.  The apartment staff reached out to us on a Saturday and we put it on the site on the following Monday.  We knew who those gentlemen were within 15 minutes.”

He says this just shows there’s no running from social media and it’s been a major tool in identifying suspects. 

“It got around to their friends so fast.”

The Facebook page has been an overall success, but Boyer says they have seen plenty of challenges as well.

“One of the biggest concerns is related to member safety.  We were asked by the police as early as March when we started getting results in 2018 to post under an anonymous name rather than identify ourselves as administrators as somebody the criminals could zero in on.  That is also a concern for the members and we look forward to the day when the app can post information anonymously rather than reveal Facebook member’s contributions.”

Last January the Facebook page was set up as a test to see if local people would get involved in sharing information that would help catch thieves and other criminals.

“We have been very much surprised at how effective it was.  In fact, we probably would have discontinued the test in March or April once we saw that people would get involved, but it was producing so many results and helping so many people, we would volunteer our days and nights and weekends because it was making a difference.”

All this testing is being done ahead of a smartphone app that is set to launch this month.

“We hold a patent on the service that will be a free app called Lightcatch and we come up with the concept time having to deal with different businesses and people in the area that were victims of crime, especially theft.”

The app will launch in Grande Prairie, and if it takes off as the Facebook page has, it could be used as a crime-fighting tool in communities around the world.

“We’re really looking forward to that day.  We’re really looking forward to seeing this service grow as fast as possible.  We had to start somewhere and are happy it was well received in our hometown of Grande Prairie.”

 

 

by Sheena Roszell