Three teenagers have been arrested following an armed theft in Kitchener, the newest in a string of crimes involving youths in Waterloo Area.
At round 4 p.m. on Sunday, three suspects entered a enterprise close to Ottawa Avenue South and Fischer Hallman Highway and stole an unspecified quantity of merchandise.
Waterloo Regional Police mentioned a gun was additionally fired, however nobody was damage through the theft.
“[We] quickly identified the suspect’s vehicle and coordinated with the Ontario Provincial Police,” they mentioned in a media launch. “The vehicle was located a short time [later] in Peel Region.”
Police mentioned two 14-year-olds and one 15-year-old, all from the Larger Toronto Space, had been arrested.
Different incidents involving teenagers
Sunday’s theft was simply the newest involving younger teenagers.
There have been at the least three incidents reported within the final month.
On Aug. 18, a 17-year-old boy, a 14-year-old woman and a 12-year-old woman had been charged in a Cambridge taking pictures.
On Sept. 4, a 13-year-old boy was charged with six residential break-ins in Cambridge.
On Sept. 6, witnesses restrained three teenagers as they had been fleeing a jewellery retailer at Highland Hills Mall in Kitchener. Police mentioned they smashed show circumstances with hammers and stole merchandise. The 15-year-old, 16-year-old and 18-year-old, all from Brampton, face a number of theft and weapons charges. Police had been nonetheless searching for a fourth one who left the scene in a black 2024 Jeep Wrangler.
Analyst shares perception
Chris Lewis, a former OPP commissioner and public security analyst for , shared his ideas on the teenager development.
“Some specific crimes that have occurred in KW and in other parts of the province are really concerning, in that they involve guns with 14-year-olds,” he mentioned.
Throughout the latest incident in Kitchener, the suspects acquired away in a car which they weren’t permitted to drive.
Lewis mentioned the teenagers could have had assist from somebody older.
“I suspect they are maybe helping them get from place to place, maybe gang activity, maybe just small criminal groups that are doing bad things too.”
If gang-related, Lewis doesn’t put the blame on lesser penalties for teenagers.
“I don’t think the Criminal Justice Act plays a huge part in it,” he mentioned. “I mean, you’re not going to lock up a 13, 14-year-old for any length of time, regardless of the Criminal Justice Act. At the same time, adults don’t seem to be concerned about their involvement in gang activity and gun crime. They’re not afraid of the Criminal Code.”
There may be some analysis, Lewis mentioned, that means the pandemic may play a consider these incidents.
“Years that [they] were isolated, not interacting with other kids, seeing no one maybe but [their] parents, and ultimately living online.”
Lewis mentioned it’s simple for teenagers to fall in with the flawed crowd and be influenced to do issues they wouldn’t in any other case do.
Crime prevention packages, he added, additionally aren’t prone to cease younger individuals from committing crimes.
