Achi news desk-
Police in New Brunswick no longer respond to ‘gas and dash’ reports unless there is an immediate or ongoing threat to public safety.
The new procedures came into effect last week, according to the New Brunswick Chiefs of Police Association, which represents the province’s nine municipal police chiefs and the commanding officer of the RCMP J Division.
The association’s president, Chief Gary Forward of the Woodstock Police Department, said the move had been delayed for about a year, but was finally implemented with a warning given to gas retailers in a March 25 letter.
“Between 2020 and 2023 we received approximately 5,200 (gas theft) complaints in the state of New Brunswick and we have equated that to approximately 18,000 hours of follow-up, attendance and investigative outcome,” Forward said in an interview. “With everything going on with public safety and certainly threats and priority risk to society, is this the best use of police resources and time for something that is arguably preventable?”
The association tells retailers to report fuel theft to police agencies that offer online services “similar to those retailers who report shoplifting incidents.”
The association has also renewed calls for the provincial government to create ‘pay before pumping’ legislation for all gas stations.
“If the methodology was changed we could virtually eliminate this particular crime,” Forward said. “And it is certainly preventable.
“It is entirely possible and certainly expected that we could reduce this particular crime, see it gone in a very short period of time.”
No plans for legislation: Austin
In a written statement Friday afternoon, Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said the provincial government had no plans to introduce prepayment legislation at gas stations.
The department contacted gas retailers last year (at the request of police chiefs) to encourage the creation of voluntary prepayment procedures.
“I understand that every police force has to prioritize the many calls it receives. Additionally, calls to report thefts under $5,000, where the theft has already occurred and there are no witnesses, often do not result in an immediate response,” Austin said in the statement. “However, I am disappointed that the local police and RCMP would take this approach and pursue this for further discussion.”
The Convenience Industry Council of Canada said it had no comment at this time regarding the new response procedures or police calls for a prepayment law.
Some gas stations in New Brunswick have recently implemented individual ‘pay before pumping’ policies during late night hours. ‘Card only’ gas pumps have also become more common at gas stations, around the clock.
In 2008, ‘pay before pumping’ legislation was enacted in British Columbia following the death of a gas attendant who was killed while trying to stop a ‘gas and dash.’ In 2017, a similar law was introduced in Alberta.
“I see the day when everywhere in Canada will have the same service protection in place, to prevent this kind of thing from happening,” CTV public safety analyst Chris Lewis said in an interview. “The police argument that the service stations themselves could take steps that would prevent the theft and therefore prevent a response, or eliminate the police response is very valid, because they can.”
