A Vancouver Cop Just Blamed Alberta for a Rise in Crime

You could say Vancouver has a habit of blaming Alberta for its problems. Pipelines and greenhouse gas emissions are one thing, but today one cop added a spike in local crime to the list.

Faced with an uptick in thefts, Vancouver Constable Brian Montague decided to throw some not-so-subtle shade Alberta's way during a Tuesday presser, when asked about Alberta transplants committing crimes.

"I think a lot of it is anecdotal, I don't have any specific numbers to provide you," he began (translation: this is fact-free speculation). "I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the Alberta economy is so poor right now and the BC economy is thriving."

Montague said it used to be that Vancouverites moved to Alberta to get better jobs, but with the crash in oil development and rise of unemployment in the province, those trends have reversed. "We are seeing a lot more people—just in general—move from Alberta to British Columbia and as a result we are likely going to run into individuals who recently moved here who are committing crimes," he said.

To back up his point he cited a recent armed robbery at a pot shop, wherein two of the three dudes arrested and charged were from Medicine Hat and Calgary, respectively. A woman who was also part of the robbery remains at large; she could be back in Lethbridge starting a #NotAllAlbertans hashtag for all we know. Montague also mentioned an 18-year-old who was confronted by police for selling a stolen bike on Craigslist last week.

Read More: As the Alberta Economy Goes Down the Shitter, Bumbling Crime Schemes are Going Up

This isn't the first time police have suggested Alberta's tanking economy is helping people get in touch with their inner criminal masterminds. Back in April, VICE reported that ATM thefts, garage break-ins and other property crimes are on the rise in Calgary, which police say "parallels" the drop in oil prices.

But even if the correlation between layoffs and Trailer Park Boys-style schemes is well established at this point, pretty sure it's the first time a cop has suggested Albertans are coming for Vancouverites' bikes.

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