Two teenage girls have been charged in the theft of a Kindness Meter for a downtown London park.
The bright blue re-purposed coin-operated parking meter was stolen from Ivey Park on Monday. The theft came less than two weeks after five of the meters, which collect change for local charities, were installed by city crews in Ivey, Victoria, West Lions, Piccadilly, and A. Baran parks.
London police announced on Friday a 15-year-old girl and 16-year-old girl have been charged with theft under $5,000 in relation to the missing meter. The names of the two girls cannot be released because of their age.
Police say a tip from the public helped them to make the arrests.
The Kindness Meter has yet to be found, but police are optimistic they will be able to locate it.
Lincoln McCardle, the man who worked for two years to bring the meters to London, has already reached out to the city regarding anti-theft measures that could be put in place to prevent future meter thefts.
Change dropped into the meters is collected and dispersed to local charities by the Salvation Army on a weekly basis. It's not known how much change the meter would have contained at the time of its theft.