Car thieves and criminal networks are targeting the Greater Toronto Area

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Your first reaction is confusion; you are almost sure you parked your car there. You double-check the surroundings, thinking you might have forgotten where you parked, or that you’re in the wrong area. A wave of anxiety begins to rise. The realization that your valuable possession is missing.

Thoughts of the inconvenience and potential financial implications start to set in. You start to search the vicinity more intensively, hoping that you simply overlooked it, or that it was towed for some reason. Checking nearby streets, parking lots, and even asking people in the area become part of your frantic search efforts.

Eventually, the sinking feeling of loss deepens, and you realize that you have to involve the authorities. You call the police to report the theft, providing them with essential details about your vehicle. The process of filing a police report adds a layer of reality to the situation, and the gravity of the theft becomes even more apparent.

You feel a mix of frustration, anger, and vulnerability. The violation of your personal space and property, the realization that someone deliberately took something that belongs to you. Of course, you feel violated and angry. Beyond the emotional impact, you begin to consider the practical consequences. How will you manage without a car? What about your personal belongings that were inside the vehicle?

Experiencing car theft can be an incredibly distressing and violating experience. The emotions that one might feel in such a situation varies, but common reactions include: a sense of shock, anger, frustration, fear, and helplessness. The loss of personal property and the violation of one’s space can have a significant impact on a person’s well-being.

In addition to the emotional toll, there are practical challenges such as dealing with law enforcement, filing insurance claims, and arranging alternative transportation. It can be a time-consuming and stressful process to navigate the aftermath of a car theft.

Community, we want you to know that car thieves and criminal networks are targeting the Greater Toronto Area. In Toronto, auto thefts have increased 81% from 2014 to 2021 and the city experienced a 78% increase in violent carjackings from 2021 to 2022.

In Peel Region, carjackings have risen 45% since 2021, and the York Regional Police report an 82% increase in auto theft when comparing the first half of 2023 to 2022. Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon) has the highest per capita number of stolen vehicles in the province — about 20 vehicles a day.

What is the reason for this? One reason is that in 2021-2022, far fewer new vehicles were available due to supply issues from the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the orders came in, it flooded the market with more vehicles. With a higher supply of all these car orders, it made cars more available for thieves. The thefts committed by the organized crime groups are increasing, and so is the funding to these groups as a result. International organized crime is worth billions of dollars, and they are working with other provinces and other countries. Criminals export the stolen cars out of the country and overseas, and make a profit, and the stolen vehicles are targeted based on demand in other countries they are exporting them to.

The positive news is that the Ontario government is investing $18 million over three years to help police services. The Preventing Auto Thefts (PAT) grant will fund projects that focus on prevention, detection, analysis and enforcement.

These projects will help root the cause of these auto-theft crimes, dismantle the organized crime networks, and get the thieves off the streets. It enables police services to work with key partners to: enhance knowledge and resources, improve investigations and gather evidence to hold criminals accountable.

Ontario is also exploring opportunities to combat vehicle thefts by partnering with: Canada Border Services Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and shipping container and rail companies. This will prevent the exportation of stolen vehicles.