Right in the centre - No words strong enough

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Published on Thursday, April 10, 2025

By Ken Waddell

Neepawa Banner & Press

I am very annoyed, but there are no words strong enough that can be used in print to express my level of annoyance. What I am writing about is the behaviour of thieves and vandals in south-western Manitoba. You are despicable low-lifes who have no excuse for theft or vandalism. We live in a fairly prosperous area where there are many jobs unfilled, and many opportunities are readily available. I stand to be corrected, but for thieves and vandals, I currently see no excuse for such behaviour other than you are misguided and dreadfully evil. 

We have many reports of theft across the southern part of Manitoba. Farms, homes and businesses are being targeted with theft of tools, vehicles, gas and anything that can readily be turned into cash. Security cameras are recording illegal activity in large numbers and while the police are doing the best they can, it seems they can’t stay ahead of the crime wave. 

Citizens are constantly being warned not try to stop thieves in the act, that getting injured is not worth fighting with thieves. Even after you have locked all your doors to houses, shed and barns, put away all the vehicle keys and installed security cameras, the theft and vandalism still continues; it’s hard to not bring on the guard dogs and the shotguns. I have lost count of the number of times I have been told that, “Somebody is going to get killed!” If a threatened property owner confronts a thief or a group of thieves and takes action they might be charged by the police. And don’t believe for a minute that at least some of the thieves can read well enough to know that is what the police are advising.

It seems there is no deterrent, no shame, no punishment, and no threat that will stop the waves of vandalism and theft. Our home was subject of a theft of a couple of power tools two years ago. This winter, our Post Office mail box was robbed and the cheques were illegally cashed by night deposit into a hacked bank account. Needless to say, we had to contact our customers, ask them to trace where their cheque was cashed and track it down through the receiving bank. Not sure how they are making out recovering their money, but our customers have to write another cheque to cover our bill. Needless to say, we are, at least temporarily, dealing with a cash f low gap.That’s annoying too, and causes a lot of extra work for us and our customers. 

There is a major discussion going in these days around the idea that multiple crimes are being committed by a relatively few criminals on a given area. I believe that is likely true. Leaders across all of our society are speaking out against the “catch and release” system. I suspect there are a lot more citizens and leaders who are speaking out that I may not have heard about. Changes to our legal system can’t come too soon. If the changes don’t come, yes, “Somebody will be killed”. 

And a final word to the thieves and vandals, get a life and stop being despicable scum of the earth. If you would work as hard at a job as you do for thefts, you would be better off. 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the newspaper staff.