An appeal by the Richmond RCMP for members of the public to jump onto a new website and identify suspects has proved to be fruitful.
The Richmond News reported last week how the local Mounties wanted people to help put some names to faces of suspected, serial property offenders who had been caught on CCTV surveillance footage.
And within a few days of the story being published, the RCMP reported that at least two suspects had been identified by more than one source who had viewed the “Richmond Help Identify” site.
“We have had people reach out to us and what’s good about it, is that certain identifications had more than one response from the community and from different people; so we’re very pleased with that,” said Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang.
“I think it just needed that small kick to get people to notice.
“We have identified two people who have been on that list for some considerable time.
“We’re now trying to increase the capacity on the site and looking to add more suspects on there as soon as we can.”
Hwang said it was “extremely helpful when people come forward,” even with a little bit of information.
“They should know that they’re making a difference in their community.”
Richmond RCMP launched the page — RCMP.ca/RichmondIdentify — near the end of last year, with a rotation of images caught on personal or commercial surveillance cameras.
The vast majority of the images are of serial break-in offenders, thieves and fraudsters, all of whom have been caught on cameras belonging to the property owner or store in question.
A recent rise in the number of people arming themselves with surveillance equipment has led to more images coming into the hands of the police.
