Interpol data confirms Canada is ‘ground zero’ for car thefts: experts

As government, constabulary and different stakeholders activity to combat Canada’s auto theft crisis, a May study from Interpol says nan state ranks among nan apical 10 countries successful hits it has received successful its database of stolen centrifugal vehicles this year, pinch immoderate calling it “ground zero.”

According to nan agency, that ranking comes conscionable 3 months aft nan Royal Canadian Mounted Police integrated nan Canadian Police Information Centre’s stolen conveyance database pinch Interpol’s own. Prior to that integration, each entries connected nan database were submitted manually.

Since then, much than 1,500 vehicles stolen successful Canada person been detected globally successful conscionable 3 months. In addition, nan RCMP’s database has specifications connected astir 150,000 vehicles stolen successful Canada and, since February, much than 200 person been identified play arsenic rule enforcement checks their information, typically astatine ports of entry.

“We’ve been calling this a nationalist car theft situation for complete a twelvemonth now,” Liam McGuinty, vice-president strategy astatine nan Insurance Bureau of Canada, told Global News.

In 2022 alone, much than 105,000 vehicles were stolen crossed Canada, according to IBC.

Those thefts costs money. IBC released a database of nan costliest cities for car theft successful 2023, and Toronto sat connected apical for Ontario pinch a 561 per cent summation complete nan past 5 years, pinch astir $371 cardinal successful claims.

McGuinty said car theft claims amounted to $1.5 cardinal nationally past year.

The summation came from a “perfect storm” of nan COVID-19 pandemic causing proviso concatenation issues, successful summation to problems involving readiness and costs of vehicles.

“I deliberation organized crime successful Canada has recovered a measurement to successfully export cars to destination markets,” he said, noting Interpol besides highlighted nan Middle East and Africa.

Interpol said successful May that stolen vehicles person go an “international criminal currency,” and car theft has go portion of a “major gross stream” for organized crime. The agency added, however, that world information sharing allows for amended screening of vehicles astatine separator points, recognition trafficking routes and arrests of those involved.

In a connection to Global News, nan RCMP said that its CPIC database was accessible to overseas rule enforcement, but integration pinch Interpol was needed owed to deficiency of awareness.

“It is helping overseas constabulary extremity stolen Canadian cars and giving constabulary everyplace leads to way down and disrupt nan gangs responsible,” nan RCMP wrote successful an email.

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A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc added that car theft requires security companies, manufacturers, rule enforcement and different stakeholders to place solutions, pinch each partner having a domiciled successful prevention and recovery.

Elliott Silverstein, nan head of authorities relations for Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) Insurance, told Global News while Canada is not unsocial successful car theft, nan state is still successful a reliable spot.

“We are surely a crushed zero for conveyance theft astir nan world,” he said.

He, alongside Interpol, notes Canada has a postulation of high-value vehicles that are enticing to car thieves, specified arsenic sports-utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossovers.

Silverstein said governments and rule enforcement person made efforts to deter theft — specified arsenic banning definite devices that could beryllium utilized for theft — but much effort should beryllium made. This includes car manufacturers moving to make vehicles harder to bargain and making it harder to get vehicles retired of ports that are used.

“This is nan balanced successful Canada connected an yearly ground of having a catastrophic incident for illustration a flood aliases hurricane aliases wildfire, but it happening each azygous time of nan twelvemonth done nan twelvemonth pinch nary extremity successful sight,” Silverstein said.

However, McGuinty adds it will return a “whole of nine approach” to lick nan situation because conscionable tackling 1 area wherever it’s happening (the East Coast, for example) won’t beryllium capable to extremity it.

“If you clamp down connected 1 symptom constituent aliases 1 problem area, it’s a crippled of whack-a-mole. It will popular up location else,” McGuinty said.