锁好自家的门窗

The Fredericton Police Force is warning residents to keep their doors locked after a string of break and enters earlier in the week.

Melissa Trites, a resident on Forest Hill Road, is seconding that warning after her home was broken into while she was home Saturday night.

"You'd think Fredericton was a safe place to live, but apparently there are some interesting people around and you need to lock your door at all times," Trites said.

"Someone was bold enough to come into our house even though the driveway was full of cars and my boyfriend and I were at home, just in the next room."

Const. Ralph Currie, spokesman for the city police, said there have been several complaints about break and enters in the area recently.

Over the weekend, police received a number of reports of people discovering missing items from their homes.

"It appears someone had entered the homes through unlocked doors, taken articles and left again without further incident," Currie said. "However, these homeowners are pretty lucky it was without further incident."

Trites lives in a home that's split into two separate apartments.

She shares the bottom half of the house with three roommates. Four tenants live upstairs.

None of her roommates was home at the time. She was watching a movie in her bedroom with her boyfriend.

"It would've happened between 10 p.m. and midnight because the (outside) door was unlocked since we were expecting one of my roommates to get home," she said.

"After she got home and locked the door, everyone went to bed around 12:30 a.m. and it wasn't until the next morning when we were looking for my boyfriend's shoes that we noticed someone had been in the house."

Trites's purse and its contents were strewn across her backyard. Money was missing from her wallet and her boyfriend's shoes were in the yard.

Her video camera was also missing.

"It had my last two years of cheerleading on it with all the teams I've coached. It's footage I can't get back," she said.

"When I realized what happened, I freaked out. If I hadn't been home and someone had broken in, it wouldn't have phased me as much. The fact that I was home and someone was in my house uninvited - just in the next room - is the scary part."

Trites said she was uneasy being at home for the past few days, but is slowly starting to feel better.

She said the apartment door is always locked now.

"People need to know that this is happening and that they should lock their doors at all times," she said.

Currie said he recommends people with ground floor windows to keep them locked as well.

"I know it's the hot weather now, but it's better not to leave your house accessible," he said. "This is just a reminder to people to absolutely lock your doors even when you're home."