Latgale battles plant thieves who take flowers, shrubs and even topsoil
Municipalities in Latgale invest annually in public flower beds, but repeatedly face theft as people uproot and remove plants, with a recent case in Rēzekne drawing wide attention.
Each year, local governments spend money creating flower beds and green spaces to make town streets and squares more attractive. Yet alongside the blooming flowers, people keep showing up who simply pull out the plants and take them home.
A recurring issue
In several Latgale municipalities, these incidents are not isolated cases but happen on a fairly regular basis. The losses are not limited to flowers alone — there have also been reports of shrubs and even topsoil being stolen from public plantings.
Rēzekne case draws attention
A recent incident in Rēzekne, where someone was caught damaging or stealing from public plantings, has attracted particularly wide public attention. Such actions create extra costs for municipalities, which must repeatedly restore damaged or emptied flower beds, reducing the effectiveness of money invested in improving the urban environment.
