Thunder Bay’s Crime Prevention Council is concerned about criminals making their way into someone’s home as a guest, and not leaving.
Coordinator Lee-Ann Chevrette tells us they’ve started a poster campaign against what they’re calling Home Take Overs, which includes a checklist determining if this has happened.
“The checklist asks an individual to reflect on a number of questions, and answering yes to any of these questions may indicate that that individual is in fact experiencing a home take over.”
The Council Coordinator adds unwelcome guests sometimes offer significant amounts of money, often to someone who’s in a vulnerable position, in exchange for being able to stay.
“We’re encouraging people to call someone they trust, perhaps a support worker, or their landlord, they can also call Crimestoppers.”
The Crime Prevention Council adds this happens when guests overstay their welcome, refusing to leave, with some type of criminal activity the end goal.
Chevrette says these people will start asking potential victims questions about their home life, or they’ll look into renting a room.
