It wasn’t exactly an armed robbery — more like an arm robbery.
The metre-long arm of one of Hazel and Rod Braithwaite’s skeletons — they call him “Groundbreaker” because he is emerging from their Lincoln Road lawn — was stolen on Saturday.
It’s discouraging, said Hazel Braithwaite, a long-time Oak Bay councillor, who said she and her husband put a lot of time and effort into having an elaborate Halloween display every year.
She said Groundbreaker is heavily staked and removing the arm would have required a lot of effort.
They have never had a problem before, save for an unsuccessful attempt to steal a light, she said.
“This is the first time and it’s just kind of shocking,” said Braithwaite. “Normally people are so respectful.”
Nonetheless, the Braithwaites have no plans to stop putting up the display, which they started because their daughter’s birthday is close to Halloween, she said.
Over the years, it’s become hugely popular, she said. “As soon as we start putting it up, which is close to the beginning of October, we have reams of people coming by,” she said. “We probably get hundreds of people a day.
“I’ll always keep doing it because I’m not going to let one incident like that stop us.”
West Shore RCMP and Victoria police say they plan to step up patrols for Halloween.
Last weekend, the Mounties had “a lot of officers out on the road because of all the Halloween parties that were happening,” said West Shore RCMP Cpl. Nancy Saggar.
On Oct. 30 as well as Halloween night, police will focus on patrolling neighbourhoods and areas of high-pedestrian traffic, said Saggar.
She said it’s helpful that Halloween doesn’t fall on a Friday or Saturday, when parties often peak.
Victoria police said they will also be patrolling area neighbourhoods on Halloween night.
