Gone In 60 Seconds (give Or Take): Motor-vehicle Theft In Canada
In 2010, there were well over 92,000 motor-vehicle thefts in Canada
, almost half of them in Ontario and Quebec. (La Belle Province had the dubious distinction of being Canadas car-theft leader that year, with over 24,000 incidents reported, or roughly one every twenty minutes.) The good news is that the number of vehicles stolen across the country has decreased significantly in the past five years: in 2007, 146,000 incidents were reported, a rate of roughly 400 per day. However, over the same period, the recovery rate has also fallen alarmingly in some provinces. In Ontario, for instance, approximately 90% of all vehicles reported stolen in 1990 were ultimately recovered; by 2010, that figure was closer to 50%. According to the OPP, this decline is a testament to the shrewdness and efficiency of evolving organized theft rings that are not out for opportunistic joy rides but rather to reap huge profits.
Gone in 60 Seconds gives the full Hollywood treatment to the seedy chop-shop underworld and recycled-parts market, but its nevertheless true that experienced car thieves dont need much more than a minute to close the deal. Even if your car is equipped with an anti-theft protection system, veterans can usually disable and bypass it inside of three minutes. Many stolen vehicles will quite literally vanish into thin air as they are dismantled for parts sold off piecemeal; others will be exported for resale abroad, which is one reason car theft is so rampant in Ontario and Quebec, both provinces with strategic access to the US border and major ports and waterways. Another common tactic of organized car-theft rings is to legally acquire run-down vehicles at a minimum of expense in order to transfer their vehicle identification numbers basically the cars dog tags to stolen vehicles with similar characteristics and then to sell the retagged, made over car for huge gains. Sometimes thieves will simply poach a vehicle identification number from a parked car and then swap it for the VIN on an identical stolen car, creating a clone that can readily be unloaded on an unsuspecting buyer.
Motor-vehicle theft may be a high-risk business, but its also incredibly lucrative and incredibly costly. Higher insurance premiums are not the only economic consequence. From recuperating or replacing stolen cars to prosecuting and incarcerating thieves, Canadians are out almost $1 billion a year on account of car theft. For obvious reasons, thieves tend to favour popular vehicles so that the resale demand will be high, but there are a few makes and models in particular that they set their sights on. In December 2011, the Insurance Bureau of Canada published its list of the ten most frequently targeted vehicles Canada, which are as follows:
1. 2009 Toyota Venza four-door
2. 1999 Honda Civic SiR two-door
3. 2000 Honda Civic SiR two-door
4. 2006 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD
5. 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT four-door AWD
6. 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS four-door 4WD
7. 2007 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD
8. 2001 Pontiac Aztek two-door AWD
9. 1998 Acura Integra two-door
10. 1999 Acura Integra two-door
So what should you do if you see yourself on this list? First, its important simply to realize that your car is a tempting prospect in a thiefs eyes and so at higher risk than, say, the Toyota Yaris. Bearing this in mind, dont do anything that might expose your vehicle to further risk. For instance:
dont park on quiet, poorly lit side streets
dont leave your windows even marginally rolled down, even if its the dog days of summer: no matter how kiln-like your car will be when you get back, at least it will still be there
never leave the keys in the ignition while the car is unattended: 1 in 5 vehicles are stolen this way
if you own an older vehicle (i.e., manufactured pre 2007), get an electronic immobilizer installed that will kill all three vital circuits the starter, the ignition, and the fuel unless the correct key is inserted
dont leave other valuables in the car that may heighten a thiefs interest
Of course, if youre in the market for a new car and are worried about the threat of theft, you may want to consider taking a closer look at one of these, the least frequently targeted vehicles in Canada:
1. 2007 Buick Terraza EXT
2. 2001 Chevrolet/GMC Astro/Safari Wagon
3. 2001 Chrysler 300M
4. 2009 Hyundai Genesis
5. 2006 Kia Spectra5
6. 2007 Lexus LS 460/LS 460L
7. 2002 Lincoln Continental
8. 2009 Saturn Aura
9. 2006 Subaru Outback Wagon
10. 2009 Subaru Outback Wagon
11. 2002 Suzuki Aerio
12. 2002 Suzuki Esteem Wagon
13. 2005 Suzuki Grand Vitara
by: Richard Desuja
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