Car thefts on the rise in Toronto, with airports a common target

Toronto Pearson International Airport employee Ted Krofchak is sharing his frustration after his truck was stolen from an employee parking lot at work back in May.

At first he says he thought he was the only one affected, but after doing some digging, he learned there were dozens of other vehicles stolen around the same time as well.

A Peel Regional police report shows that during the span of four months from February to May, 40 vehicles were stolen from Pearson Airport parking lots.

Krofchak says the employee parking lot in particular needs better security and a fence. He says right now it’s too easy for thieves to get in.

We reached out to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and here’s what they said in a statement: “We take this matter very seriously and are actively increasing our security and monitoring detail through: greater police presence and surveillance at our parking facilities; increased security patrols; increased camera coverage and monitoring of all employee and public spaces; and greater security presence at entry and exit points.”

The issue isn’t just at airport parking lots. There has been an increase in auto thefts in Toronto. According to the Toronto Police Service, in 2018 there were 2,686 car thefts. That’s already a 32 per cent increase from last year with only 11-15 per cent of the cases being solved.