The Medicine Hat Police Service wants to advise and remind residents of a travelling group of criminals that are responsible for distraction thefts.  It is possible that these persons may be operating in the Medicine Hat area today.

The following are examples of how the criminals operate:

The suspects target jewelry stores and second hand stores. Two people may enter the store, one asks to see a piece of jewelry and use sleight of hand or distraction techniques to conceal it, while the other counts or shows a large amount of cash.

People may be targeted in box store parking lots or roadways. Someone may approach offering to sell a high priced piece of jewelry for a fraction of the price due to needing gas money. The jewelry turns out to be fake and worthless.

These groups have a history of targeting people in parking lots, using distraction to steal items such as purses, phones and other valuables.

If anyone has information, regarding these types of occurrences, please contact the Medicine Hat Police Service at, 403-529-8481 or by email at CIT@mhps.ca

Sgt. Kesler