As gas prices have skyrocketed, so has the number of fuel thefts in the province.

The Saskatchewan RCMP has received 178 reports of fuel thefts from January to April, a 76 per cent increase compared to last year. One hundred thirty-seven of those reports of thefts of fuel from gas stations.

RCMP have also received ten reports of thefts from farm fuel tanks, 12 reports of thefts from bulk fuel tanks, ten thefts of jerry cans and nine reports of theft by siphoning/drilling gas tanks.

Monica Deters, the Saskatchewan RCMP’s acting officer in charge of Crime Reduction and Crime Prevention, said it’s hard to tell if the increase at the pumps is the reason.

“Obviously, there has been a significant increase in the price of fuel recently. We can’t speculate on motives in these thefts, but it is important that individuals and businesses be aware they may be occurring more frequently.”

Deters said residents could do a lot to prevent fuel theft, including locking privately owned tanks, setting up video or photo surveillance, parking vehicles in a locked garage, outbuilding or well-lit area; parking with fuel doors facing a frequently travelled road, activating vehicle alarms and reporting suspicious activity to police.G