Moncton-area vandalism, break-ins 'completely out of hand,' locksmith says

Maryse Carey could very easily have said nothing.

She could have kept fixing the increasing numbers of vandalized lockboxes, replacing more and more stolen apartment and vehicle keys, installing soaring numbers of anti-pry plates to bolster doors – and getting paid to do it.

But Carey, who owns Carey My Keys lock and safe shop in Moncton, says she can't in good conscience look away from what is driving this unexpected business boom.

She says break-and-enters, vandalism, theft and other crimes are "completely out of hand" in the greater Moncton area.

And she worries that they will continue, and possibly worsen, unless the growing problem of homelessness and drug use are addressed and policing and mental health supports are increased.

Carey and her husband, Travis, have shops in both Moncton and Dieppe. Carey said she's seen the disturbing trend at both locations over the past year. And in the past six months, she said, it has skyrocketed.  

"People breaking locks to get in, people drilling washer-dryer coin boxes, people setting up camp in the vestibule, making the residents of the apartment very uncomfortable," she said.

"Sometimes they're trying to open up the electrical rooms, so they're damaging the locks on the electrical room, trying to get in to steal. They're stealing keys ... left outside for N.B. Power, for firefighters in case of emergency."

Carey said it breaks her heart to see her clients coming in week after week to have the same repairs done and keys replaced, over and over again.

"One day when a client came in with eight washer [coin] boxes that just had been drilled, I was like, 'This is getting completely out of hand.' And I just felt compelled to do something to help them."

On Tuesday, Carey sent a letter to the area's three mayors, listing the many types of damage her company has had to repair – and re-repair – in the past year, asking, "What is happening to Greater Moncton? What is the source of the problem? And how can we fix it, together?"

She asked them to consider meeting with apartment building owners, property management companies and others to discuss the problem.

As of Friday night, none of them had responded to her.

However, Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold's office responded to a CBC request for comment Friday morning, noting that the mayor had received the letter and forwarded it to the RCMP, "given they remain responsible for addressing crime."