The OPP arrived at the SPVM headquarters Tuesday which had the media and public by surprise. What were they there for? A murder? The answer was not so surprising, they were there concerning the increase in vehicle thefts through the past couple of years. Vehicles thefts had an uptake of nearly 300% in Quebec and Ontario. The increase is yet to be known, but the amount of these stolen vehicles being found on land across the Atlantic Sea is stunning.
Every 40 minutes a vehicle gets stolen in the city of Toronto, even worse, every 14 minutes a vehicle is stolen in Ontario. Last year insurance companies in Quebec reported an over 1 billion dollar in claims in vehicle thefts. What could have caused this dramatic increase? Could it be that it has to do with having a trusted source to sell these cars? Like sources that could sell the cars on another continent?
The Toronto Police Services had a press conference where they had stated to leave your car keys near the entrance of your home, with the idea being that they wouldn’t commit a home invasion just to steal your car. But this idea results in high insurance rates on your insurance if your car, does indeed, get stolen. Which begs the question; Have authorities just given up on fighting the crime of vehicle thefts?
The OPP was made a stop at the SPVM headquarters Tuesday in hopes to tackle the peak in vehicle thefts in the last year. The Ontario authorities had pointed out to the Quebec authorities to be present and alert during the week, as if it was the province of Quebec that a car was being jacked every 14 minutes to the point where they’re telling the public to give in and basically handing the keys to the thieves.
The Quebec authorities have been paying their duties since the car theft summit held on at the beginning of February, having made 2 massive vehicle seizures since. Does this mean the port of Montreal is a critical part of exporting the vehicles? Or that Ontario authorities want insight on how to tackle the problem? Many arrests have been made, with many more to come.
The meet-up had been planned Friday, leaving three to four days before the operation took place. If the aim of the federal car theft summit was to reunite police corps, RCMP and insurance companies and such to tackle the general car theft problem in the East of the country, it seems to be working. But will it have an effect on the rampart crime of car theft? Around 60 suspects have been arrested in efforts of this operation so far.
