A Vancouver resident who lives in the West End was shocked to see a scary surprise on their apartment door.
The door leading to their apartment had the door latch covered in silver tape so the door wouldn’t lock.
They shared a picture of the apartment door discovery on the Vancouver subreddit and shared their story with Daily Hive.
Out of an abundance of caution, we’ve kept the name of the Redditor anonymous.
Check your doors – Someone put silver tape over the door latch hole of our apartment building’s back door so the door won’t lock (in the West End)
byu/Harshtagged invancouver
The resident in question has lived in the West End for two and a half years and has had few safety issues.
“For the most part, it seems fairly safe. I don’t have any worries going out for a walk at night, but I know people who are more worried for their personal safety.”
They told Daily Hive that most of the crime in the area seems to be property crime, “but it does seem like violent crime is going up, and heavy drug users seem to frequent the neighbourhood more and more.”
“We haven’t had any break-ins in our suite, but we did have a few small things stolen from a storage room outside our suite. At first, I thought it was from another resident, but now I suspect that it was someone from outside the building.”
After noticing the tape, they took a picture and let their landlord know so other residents could be alerted.
They also took the time to share a reminder for people who live in multi-unit buildings.
“People need to take the security of the buildings more seriously. In the buildings that I’ve lived in, many do, but not everyone.”
They added that you should not let anyone in your building as you go out unless you know they live there.
“One day, I was walking home, and there was a man taking a leisurely stroll close to my building and he was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. Once I passed him and turned up the walkway to my building, he suddenly started to walk quickly. That seemed to me like someone who made himself up to be a trustworthy white-collar worker and was trying to sneak in.”
Another thing they said was to watch out for folks who say they’re from Amazon, as it could be another tactic for thieves to get in. We’ve reported on stories like this in the past.
“There are so many ways to get into buildings these days. It’s just a matter of time before they succeed.”
Tips from other residents
Many responded to the Redditor’s post about the tape on his Vancouver apartment door, with others suggesting they’ve experienced similar occurrences.
“Happens often,” one user said.
Adding, “It’s literally a calling card for ‘I’m coming back to steal or damage your stuff.’”
They shared that they don’t walk away from their building until they know an outside door is closed.
Another user shared that they’ve noticed some folks using magnets to stop the side entry doors from fully latching shut.
“When working at a cinema downtown [people would] do this with our building’s fire exits, often with a coin taped over the latch,” someone else shared.
Another tip someone shared was to give your door a “sturdy push or pull” after locking it, and the original poster said that’s how they discovered the tape on their door.
We contacted the VPD about this incident and asked if the force has seen others like it.