WARMINGTON: Vehicles in Peel Region are being stolen by the dozen each and every day

Take a good look at your beloved wheels because they may not be there for long!

“Had my one year old Dodge Ram stolen out of my driveway two nights ago after talking to my neighbours,” said one resident on the Erin Mills neighbourhood social media site. “I understand there have been five such incidents in my square block (Truscott and Bramsey Drives).”

It is not an exaggeration.

If they are looking to make a sequel of the 2000 car-stealing film Gone in 60 Seconds, Peel Region would be a good location to find some fast and furious thefts.

In the past month, police say there have been close to 400 auto thefts.

And 2022 is shaping up to be a record year. If things stay on track, Peel may end up with 700 more car thefts than the 3,751 it had in 2021. The July statistics for cars stolen in Mississauga and Brampton have not yet been tabulated but those numbers are expected to be staggering.

“There were 407 vehicles stolen in June this year, 2,743 to the end of June — an average of 457 a month,” said Peel Const. Sarah Patten.

May and June accounted for 864 car thefts in Peel and even though a car theft does not always make the news, there are about a dozen stolen in this region each day. There is a very good chance your street may be hit.

Clearly there’s handsome profit to be made from stealing cars and sending them on ships abroad. In June, the OPP intercepted one container which had three luxury vehicles set to be sent to Montreal by rail and then onto off-shore customers. But for every container that is stopped, dozens slip through. Some ships carry 4,000 containers so they are hard to trace.

Peel Regional Police have a dedicated squad working on it.

“The Peel Regional Police Commercial Auto Crime Bureau is responsible for investigations involving criminal organizations responsible for the theft, re-vining, and exportation of stolen vehicles and the theft of heavy equipment, tractor, trailer, and load thefts,” said Patten. “There are five detective constables and one detective presently in the bureau.”

That’s two car thefts a day per cop and 14 per week, so these officers are overwhelmed. But investigations are underway. Stay tuned.

In some car theft cases, organized criminals are using technology to open and start your car and steal it under the cover of the night. Others use more aggressive armed carjacking approaches.

“What the hell are we going to do?” asked one victim. “I took every precaution (including a Faraday box which blocks the key’s electronic signal)” but it “makes no difference (if) there is a gang operating within our neighbourhood.”

It’s time for the law-abiding to use technology to keep up with the criminals. Perhaps government can borrow from the contentious ArriveCan app and use the technology to try to keep our cars from being stolen and leaving the country!

In the meantime, keep an extra eye on your car. Statistics show it could be next!

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post