Kelowna politician devises plan to catch sign thief | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kelowna News

Kelowna politician devises plan to catch sign thief

Elections are notorious for unleashing acts of sabotage between competing camps. But today Kelowna RCMP had to issue an alert about taking matters into their own hands.

Last week, police discovered a large amount of election signage in Kelowna had suddenly gone missing. Removing election signs may be theft and can be prosecuted.

Conservative candidate Mike McLoughlin says he lost close to 100 of the small blue 'I Like Mike' signsposted along Gordon, Springfield and McCulloch.

“I'm getting emails from people saying 'I can't see your signs,” McLoughlin says and responds by telling them, “someone stole them all.”

But McLoughlin says he's found a creative solution.

“I have a bait sign," he says.

Using GPS software on his mobile phone, he will receive a text message if the bait sign is tampered with.

“It will text me when it's moving and follow its location,” he says. McLoughlin said it was used by local police forces in the United States to respond to rampant sign-stealing, and it lead them straight to the perpetrators.

McLoughlin says he's not the only one to be targeted. Some of the other candidates also have trouble with sign-stealing. He suspects the people responsible are sabotaging the election process.

“It's probably somebody who has a bee in their bonnet, they don't like the democratic process,” he says.

Kelowna RCMP are asking anyone with information to contact them at 250-762-3300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Julie Whittet at jwhittet@infotelnews.ca or call (250)718-0428.

News from © iNFOnews, 2013
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