Police combat gas'n'go thefts

Police in Laval are taking steps to combat gas thefts. The department says the number of thefts at the pump has risen considerably in recent days, and it gets at least one report a day of people filling up and bolting.

The campaign's motto: "Leave without paying and you'll have your fill of problems." Laval police are distributing posters in gas stations telling motorists that stealing gas is a serious crime, and that a conviction could leave them with a criminal record.

Laval police spokesperson Guy Lajeunesse says he's not sure drivers who get away with it fully understand the consequences of what they're doing.

"When you get caught you got a big fine and you got a criminal record," Lajeunesse says. "And that might be a problem if you want to go out of the country. It's tough to live with it."

He says gas theft is a problem everywhere, but it may be worse in Laval because it's easy to get away quickly.

"We got some big boulevards near the highway, so sometimes it is easier to leave without paying," Lajeunesse says.

Officers are also giving clerks at service stations a form they can quickly fill out to describe gas thieves and their vehicles in an effort to help with the police investigation.

But one of the difficulties police have with this kind of investigation is proving criminal intention to steal gasoline. An accused gas thief can plead he simply forgot to pay after filling up.

Other people make the effort to mask their licence plates so they can't be picked up by surveillance cameras.

Many gas stations in Quebec and Ontario have already taken the step of making motorists pay before allowing them to fill up.

CBC