Kelowna International Airport is trying to crack down on thefts and other criminal activity in their parking lots.
They've reported a slight increase in incidents in the lots this year. One such incident happened this past July, when a man was stabbed when trying to stop a suspect from breaking into his vehicle.
Another incident occurred last month, when airport security intercepted a would-be thief from stealing a car in the parking lot.
With more parking spaces on the way in late 2019, Airport Director Sam Samaddar says the airport will be focusing on the safety of passengers and their vehicles.
“We’ll be ensuring that we have good security measures,” says Samaddar. “We’ll continue to use patrols, but security is a layered approach, and we’ll continue to take that approach and use the best practices as we develop that new parking lot.”
He says the long term lots tend to be the most vulnerable to thieves.
“We have a lot of vehicles that are parked here, and they’re certainly parked for some time, so I guess some people look at that as a target, being that the vehicles will be there for a week, two weeks, or longer.”
Samaddar notes that YLW is working closely with the RCMP to try and mitigate the issue.