Break-ins in N.L. are evolving, leaving some families feeling unsafe in their own homes

It was 9 p.m. on a Monday when someone broke into Nicole Hughes's home in a residential St. John's neighbourhood. 

The person likely came in through an unlocked back door, grabbed a bag filled with personal belongings, and ran. 

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary spokesperson Const. James Cadigan says this is the most common type of break and enter police are seeing nowadays, something he calls a "crime of opportunity."

Hughes was in her Churchill Park-area home with her three young children when it happened earlier this month. She says she and her husband never felt the need to lock their doors and windows when they were awake at home.

Since the incident, she says the days when doors were left unlocked are long gone.

"Once someone's in your home, it's a next level of, you know, just violation of your personal space," she said.

"I'm more alert looking out the windows … checking the locks more excessively than ever … probably every hour when I'm home, again when I'm going to bed."

The break-in

Hughes was working in the basement when she heard someone walking upstairs, the same floor where her three young children were asleep in their bedrooms.

She thought it was her husband, who had popped out for a bit, but his car wasn't in the driveway. Frightened, she called him and asked if he was home. He said no.

"I think as soon as I noticed the van wasn't there … it was panic," she said.

"Just knowing that somebody was that close in my home, that close to my children, is a very uncomfortable and scary feeling."

WATCH | Checking the doors every hour. Hear how a home break-in has affected this St. John's family: 

Someone broke into this woman’s house — while her three kids were sleeping

1 month ago

Duration 3:18

Nicole Hughes of St. John’s heard a sound one night, and terror dawned when she realized it was a stranger entering her house while her three young kids were asleep in their rooms. The CBC’s Jessica Singer talked to Hughes about what she’s doing differently since the incident, and about the complexity of break-ins at a social level.

She checked on her children, who were okay, and her husband rushed home. She never saw anybody enter or leave the house, and she didn't hear a door slam. 

The front door security camera didn't detect any movement, so Hughes believes the person came and left through the back door. Both the front and back doors were unlocked.

The next morning, Hughes discovered her work and personal bags were stolen, including items such as her wallet, her kids' MCP cards, glasses and a set of car keys.

The family has lived on the street for almost five years, and Hughes says other neighbours have had their vehicles and homes broken into.

Increased crime

The crime rate in Newfoundland and Labrador increased by 5 per cent from 2022 to 2023, according to Statistics Canada data referenced in a new St. John's report aimed at addressing violence and crime in the city.

The Building Safer Communities Strategy, which the city approved on Oct. 8, lists several factors that it says contributes to increased crime, such as food insecurity, homelessness and unemployment rates. The report says homelessness is increasing in St. John's, and the rate of food insecurity has risen in Newfoundland and Labrador by 3 per cent from 2022 to 2023.

Data from the RNC, however, shows residential break and enters in the northeast Avalon Peninsula, Corner Brook and Labrador West are not on the rise. According to the RNC, there were 669 break and enters on the northeast Avalon in 2018, and 523 in 2023. In Labrador West, there were 29 reported break and enters in 2018, and just two in 2023.

The St. John's safety report also says police-reported cases of breaking and entering in the city have steadily decreased between 2014 to 2023.

But Cadigan says numbers don't tell the full story.

"We certainly believe there's events that go unreported," he said.

Breaking and entering doesn't always mean a person forcibly enters and ransacks a home, he says. A lot of perpetrators are instead looking through windows or doors and seeing if they are unlocked. If someone realizes they have easy access, they'll come in and take car keys, purses, wallets — items that are in plain sight.

"It's a quick grab and go, so it's a situation where these perpetrators believe they're less likely to be detected," he said.

"There was a period of time in recent months where we saw events occurring between 7 p.m. and midnight, when essentially we believe people were at home."

How to protect your house

Cadigan says one of the most important things to do if someone suspects their home has been broken into is to not touch anything, and immediately contact police.

The more information and evidence police have, the more likely they'll be able to retrieve stolen belongings and catch the perpetrator.

One of the most important things is ensuring windows are secure and doors are locked at all times, even when everyone is at home.

Hughes says the family has installed more security cameras around their property, they're looking into automatic locks for their front and back doors, and they now have a dog.

Although her sense of security has been disturbed, Hughes says break-ins are a symptom of a larger, underlying problem in St. John's.

"I'm fearful, you know, for my family and personal safety.... But also, I think it just is speaking volumes to the issues that we're presented with right now," she said.

"There's a housing crisis, there's crime rates, there's increased drug use, and I think all these break-ins are just showing that there are people out there who are desperate for money for various reasons."

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