Unknown criminals robbed a local corner shop on the Scottish island of Canna the first such crime to occur in some fifty years. Due to this, the leadership of Canna has enacted a new regulation: from the 12 June, 2015 onward every citizen must keep their homes locked.

The small island has only 26 inhabitants and according to Independent, the last time a crime was registered was in the ‘60s, when a plate was stolen from a local church. In the current case, candies, biscuits, and coffee were stolen from the corner shop, as well as six woolen hats knitted by the owner, Julie MaCabe, which she had made for local fishermen.

The burglar, or burglars, did not have a difficult task since the shop is never closed, not even at night. You can enter anytime in order for fishermen and canoeists to use Wi-Fi, drink a cup of hot tea or coffee, and buy what you need. The owner said that everybody had deposited money in the honesty box when she had not been there, and she also added that from now on they have to consider locking the door at night. Since the isle does not have Police, policemen from outside have started investigating in this case, and they will interrogate everybody who was on the island or docked last week.

Canna is a member of the Small Isles. The Small Isles (Na h-EileananTarsainn in Scottish) are an archipelago of islands in the Inner Hebrides.

The four biggest inhabited islands are Eigg, Muck, Rùm, and Canna. Besides these, several smaller islands can be found in the archipelago—for instance Sanday (inhabited) and the uninhabited EileanChatchastail and Horse Isles. Sanday is connected to Canna by a bridge and sandbanks at low tide. Approaching the islands is not easy because the ferry only runs on demand of the isle’s citizens.

Canna, located the furthest west of the four largest islands, is the property of the National Trust for Scotland. The island is only seven kilometers long and one and a half kilometers wide. The then-owner, John Lorne Campbell, handed it over to the Trust in 1981. Campbell was a folklorist; Gaelic mementos collected by him can be seen in one of the two big houses on the island.

Since 2004, the Trust has been taking steps to attract more and more visitors to the island.

Police visit the isle twice a year, and even then the main reason is to supervise firearms licenses. Medical care is provided by the physician of the Isle of Eigg. The roads of Canna are not covered by asphalt and they are private property, but local vehicles do not have to pay a toll. Canna is mostly renowned for its bird fauna—golden eagles, ospreys, Atlantic puffins, and several rare butterfly species can be found there. Dolphins and smaller whales can also be seen next to the isle. There are basalt columns on the east side of Canna, while on the western coast cliffs protrude into the sea.
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