As far as petty theft goes, it's about as shameless as it gets.
Over the weekend, Halton Regional Police Service arrested a man on suspicion of stealing money from a poppy donation box at an Oakville Tim Hortons. Juan Pablo Serra, 18, has been charged with theft under $5,000 after about $100 in donation money was stolen from the location on Oct. 29.
Coincidentally, Mr. Serra was arrested on Nov. 11, Detective Sergeant Greg Sullivan said.
"There's such a trust aspect with poppy boxes," Det. Sgt. Sullivan said. "They're usually left out on the counter."
A rash of poppy-box thefts occur every year in Canada and other countries. Halton Police see about one or two cases a year, Det. Sgt. Sullivan said. But this year has been especially bad in Canada. In Ontario, Ajax, just east of Toronto, has seen more than a dozen cases, and a man and a woman were arrested in Kitchener after two boxes were stolen. Dozens more cases have been reported in Calgary, including one where the culprit turned out to be an eight-year-old boy.
Poppy boxes are organized by the Royal Canadian Legion, which uses the money collected to assist veterans.
The boxes are usually unguarded, so in a Tim Hortons or a fast-food restaurant, a thief has a chance to make off with a box when no one is watching. However, many locations have closed-circuit cameras, and police often have video footage of the theft, such as in the case in Oakville.
Usually, the payoff for the thief is nothing to brag about. In one theft in Ajax the take was about $5 in change.
Det. Sgt. Sullivan said that even though the crime amounts to petty theft, its impact extends beyond the money stolen.
"It's such a shocking thing for the community, given everything veterans have done for us," he said.