Toronto councillor calls for crackdown amid upward trend in vehicle theft

A Toronto councillor is calling for action to crack down on the number of auto thefts in the city, including the creation of a dedicated police unit and increased information sharing across the region.

“Auto theft has reached unprecedented and epidemic levels in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area,” Mike Colle said in a motion set to be considered by city council during its meeting on Wednesday.

Colle went on to cite Insurance Bureau of Canada data, saying in Ontario there were more than 12,000 automobile theft claims worth $250.7 million — a 55-per-cent increase between 2016 and 2020.

If ultimately backed by city council and approved by the Toronto Police Service and the Toronto Police Services Board, the creation of a dedicated unit would be in line with services in York and Peel regions where both communities have been grappling with auto thefts.

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Peel Regional Police Const. Heather Cannon told CityNews the communities the service patrols, including Brampton and Mississauga, have seen a year-over-year jump in incidents.

Between January and October 2020, she said there were more than 2,800 vehicles reported stolen while during the same period in 2021 there were around 3,200 reports.

“The distress that people have when they come out of their house and they find their vehicle–they had their hard-earned money to pay for these vehicles, and now they’re gone,” Cannon said, calling the number of investigations into thefts and theft rings concurrently on the go at times “overwhelming.”

“A lot of the time these higher-end vehicles either they’re being resold or they’re being shipped to another country.”

She said thieves not only look in neighbourhoods for in-demand vehicles but said they will sometimes pick out an automobile at places like malls, slip a small tracking device near the gas tank or rear bumper and follow it to your home before stealing it later on.

In Peel Region, Cannon said the top five stolen vehicles are the Lexus RX350 (2016 to 2021 models), Honda CR-V (2016 to 2021 models), Range Rover (2016 to 2021 models), Toyota Highlander (2016 to 2021 models) and Ford F-150 (2017 to 2021 models).

Bryan Gast, vice-president of investigative services with the Équité Association — an organization made up of insurers aimed at reducing and preventing crime, said the rising numbers in Ontario are a reason for concern.

“It’s not a victimless crime. There are many aspects to it. Organized crime is behind it,” he said.

“There hasn’t been one year where there hasn’t been a decline, so it continues to evolve and it continues to be a problem.”

Aside from auto theft rings, Gast noted vehicles are stolen for joyriding purposes, for other criminal activity and for resale on the used vehicle market — one that’s fired up right now due to vehicle-related supply chain shortages.

He encouraged anyone looking to buy a used car from someone online to get a used vehicle information package from the Ontario government or consult Carfax Canada’s website (instead of relying on a printed out copy given out by the seller in case it’s forged) by providing the vehicle identification number on the dashboard.

Tips to help make you less of a target for auto theft

When it comes to protecting your vehicles, Cannon said there are many steps that need to be taken to create layers of difficulty for thieves.

“I can’t give you one magic thing to tell you to do so your vehicle doesn’t get stolen,” she said.

“Ultimately the biggest you want to do is create enough obstacles that even though they may have tracked your vehicle and they want your vehicle, you’ve thrown enough obstacles in the way that they think this is not worth my time.”

Cannon offered the following theft prevention tips for drivers:

Cover your VIN: Every vehicle has a 17-digit vehicle identification number that provides details about the automobile including the year, engine type, country of assembly, exact model — all bits of information that could help suspects access details that could help with stealing a vehicle. She suggested covering your VIN with a card, but noted if you’re pulled over an officer will need to be able to see the VIN so it can’t be covered permanently.

Keys and faraday bags: Cannon suggested keeping your keys away from your entry doors, especially if your vehicle relies on just a fob for starting the engine. She also suggested keeping it in a faraday pouch or box, which contains RFID signal-blocking materials that would prevent a thief from copying the signal off your key and replicating it to access your automobile.

OBD port lock: In an effort to prevent thieves from cloning your key and fob, consider installing an onboard data port lock underneath your steering wheel.

GPS tracking devices: Should someone be able to successfully steal your vehicle, a GPS tracking device installed in the automobile can potentially lead officers to recover your vehicle.

Steering wheel locking devices: Using tools like “The Club” or another type of device will help act as a deterrent. Cannon said there are devices that have the ability to lock the pedals as well.

Park strategically: For those with garages, driveways and/or more than one vehicle, put your locked vehicle in your garage or if you don’t have one, park the more expensive vehicle or one more commonly stolen behind another vehicle.

Battery: If you’re going to be away for an extended period of time, disconnect your vehicle’s battery.

Warm-up thefts: Cannon said the service received reports about vehicles being stolen while left running during the wintertime to warm up and encouraged drivers to not leave automobiles unattended.