The Big Take
The Commodities Boom Is Luring Criminals to Make Bigger and Bolder Scores
The pandemic, soaring prices, and economic pain have combined to create perfect conditions for thieves and fraudsters.
Photo Illustration by 731; Photos: Alamy (1), Getty Images (2)
Sergeant Tosha Ternes spends most of her time at the Saskatoon Police Service investigating cases of breaking and entering. In recent months her department has seen a “drastic” increase in one type of crime: lumber theft from construction sites.
“Everything’s just lying there, kind of like a free-for-all,” Ternes says from the Saskatchewan city in Canada’s prairie region. “Some sites have been hit two, three, four times.”