New Brunswick police no longer investigating most thefts of fuel from gas stations – New Brunswick [Video]

Police officers across New Brunswick are no longer investigating thefts of fuel from service stations unless there is a threat to public safety.

Earlier this month, the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police sent a letter to petroleum retailers across the province, saying the change was needed because there are more effective ways of dealing with the steady increase in fuel thefts. The change took effect April 15.

Between 2020 and 2023, the province’s police agencies, including the RCMP, received 5,200 complaints about people stealing gas from fuel pumps, said Woodstock police Chief Gary Forward, who is also president of the chiefs’ association.

Forward said this type of crime could be prevented if the province introduced legislation requiring customers to pay before they fill up, as is already the case in Alberta and British Columbia. Fuel thefts at gas stations have been virtually eliminated in the two western provinces, …