Parks and rec director falls victim to thieves

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 8, 2004


The head of the Burnaby parks and recreation department is kicking herself this week after falling victim to one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Kate Friars lost her wallet, all of her identification, a briefcase containing her working papers and a little bit of her honour last week, when thieves broke into her vehicle while it was parked at the Burnaby Lake sports complex.

"I was only gone for 15 minutes," said Friars, who admits that her department has been issuing warnings to the public about parking lot thieves for years.

To make matters even more ridiculous, Friars was on her way to a meeting on public safety in city parks when she parked at the lake to take her dog Maggie for a short walk.

"I get phone calls every once in awhile from people who've been broken into while they're visiting our parks, and now I fully understand and appreciate what it's all about," she said. "Whoever is doing this seems to be working in the area because we hear about a number of thefts down there."

And after spending much of the past week cancelling her credit cards and replacing her identification, Friars said she's now learned the hard way to never leave valuables in a parked vehicle.

"We do our best to warn people about these things, but it can happen to anyone," she said. "So please, please, please, take precautions.

"But how stupid can the director of parks and recreation be?" she asked.