"For their first time out, it's an excellent result," said Andrew Ross, Westmount's communications agent.

Public Security officers Jennifer Chabot, Robert Forbes, Tim Beaupré and Sgt. Kimberly Colquhoun skied from noon to midnight to raise money in a Quebec-wide charity ski event benefiting LEUCAN, an organization whose goal is to enhance the well-being, healing and recovery of children with cancer and ensure support for their families.

The overall event raised $350,000.

"Our PSOs had a lot of fun," added Ross.

Public Security Director Richard Blondin skied a few hours early in the day, but offered more than his skiing prowess to the team's efforts.

"We were one of 12 of the 25 groups involved to actually complete the marathon," Blondin boasted. "I visited them later in the evening to offer moral support."

Next year, Public Security hopes to raise a few thousand dollars for the charity.

"We hope to make this a yearly event," Blondin added.

The rash of thefts of objects from cars continues in Westmount but at least one thief has been stopped with the help of a security camera.

At 5:45 a.m. on March 4, the concierge of an apartment building on Sherbrooke Street near Elm Avenue was doing a routine tour of the building's indoor parking garage when he noticed two vehicles with broken windows.

He called the police, who watched the suspect enter through the building's front door in the early morning hours before dawn, break into the second entrance door and walk across the lobby — all captured on a security camera.

The suspect then entered the garage and approached the two vehicles. He then left the parking lot, re-entered it a few moments later, stole a bicycle, and fled the scene.

The officers recognized him as a 'subject of interest' in the neighbourhood and sent his description out to the other police stations, along with a description of his clothing.

Later that evening, two Station 12 officers patrolling downtown noticed a man who matched the description and was wearing the same coloured clothing as the suspect. He was stopped and arrested.

"Surveillance cameras that capture colour can really help," said Station 12 constable Alain Diallo.