it seems the crime of gas and dash has gained momentum as the price of a fill up blows up CTV Sarah Plowman is looking into the New Brunswick situation and Sarah what's going on there Sandy the owners of gas stations are responding today to a move by police across New Brunswick to stop responding to most gas thefts Johnny's gas bar has a steady stream of customers basically you pick up the nozzle yeah and select your product and pay after in recent years the owner says thefts Are Climbing man like I work hard for my money and and then people I find um they're entitled to steal my money steal the gas and go police in New Brunswick say they'll no longer respond to gas thefts unless there's a risk to Public Safety they want the province to bring in a pay before you pump law it is entirely uh possible and certainly expected that that we could uh reduce this particular crime see it gone uh within a very short period of time the change was made years ago in Alberta and BC prompted in BC by the death of a worker chasing a thief in the last three years in New Brunswick Police say there were 5,200 complaints of gas theft that's 18,000 hours of investigating for a crime they say is preventable the cops aren investigating the government should be able to step in and give us a hand because we're losing money we reached out to the public safety Minister for an interview but instead were sent a statement he says while he understands that police are prioritizing calls he's disappointed with the approach they're taking he says he's not planning to bring in any new law in this province noting that retailers can make the change if they want Sandy okay Sarah