Delta police are putting resources into stemming cell phone thefts after a number of incidents in recent weeks.
Department spokesperson Const. Ciaran Feenan said many of the thefts have occurred in North Delta, but the problem moved south last week after a theft at Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen.
Trevor MacDonald, 15, was at the beach last Thursday night. He had his phone out and was sitting around a fire around 11: 15 p.m. with a few friends when someone came up behind him and snatched his phone out of his hands.
Megan Anderson, MacDonald's stepmother, said the teen at first thought it was someone playing a joke and stood up and demanded his phone back. He was confronted by a group of five older teens. He was told to "sit down kid" and the group walked away with the phone - a new iPhone he'd only had for a week, Anderson said.
"We're lucky that he was smart enough to sit down," she added.
Feenan said the department has identified cell phone theft as an issue and is currently focusing more attention on local parks and open spaces, where the thefts seem to be happening.
In addition to the extra attention from officers, the annual Parks Patrol is out in force again this summer.
Every summer, Delta's parks, recreation and culture department partners with the Delta Police Department to hire a group of students to patrol the community's parks in the evenings to ensure that park users are complying with municipal and provincial laws.
Feenan also said residents that see suspicious groups or behaviour in local parks are urged to call police.
