Late last month, a Guelph, Ontario, couple were leaving for work when they noticed a plastic bag on their front step. Turns out, the bag contained their Xbox, digital camera, $50 in damages and an apologetic note from a thief who had robbed them. It’s further proof that Canadians are among the most polite people on the planet.

According to reports, the couple didn’t even know they’d been robbed, and their small town had just been named the safest city in Canada for the fifth year in a row by the country’s national statistics agency.

“Residents kind of laugh that even criminals respect our crime rate and felt guilty because it did come the same week that we were voted safest city,” said Guelph Police Sgt. Douglas Pflug. “It opened a neat social media debate.”

In the note, the robber wrote that he’s been having “a very hard time financially,” and he described the crime as “the worst mistake” of his life. He also left $50 for the couple to repair their broken backdoor screen and pledged to “commit to at least 15 hours of community service to partially help atone for what I have done.”

But despite the robber’s change of heart, the couple still remains uneasy. “They’re pretty upset by it, because at the end of the day someone still broke into their home,” Pflug said. “It’s going to take some time until they feel 100 percent safe.” Police are currently searching for the penitent thief.

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