What You Need to Know About Car Theft & How to Protect Your Vehicle
Car theft is a highly profitable and low-risk industry that has become a very serious problem in Canada today, according to Detective Sergeant Brian Raybould of the Toronto Police Service Special Investigation Services Auto unit.
Statistics from the Insurance Bureau of Canada show that the rate of car theft is 64 per cent higher than a decade ago, and it is costing Canadians billions of dollars annually. "In Toronto alone, 12,693 vehicles were stolen in 1999", says Raybould.
"While the rate of recovery of stolen vehicles in the early 1990?s was 95%, in 1999 this rate dropped to 61%. Most of the vehicles that were not recovered, were not here to be recovered", explains Raybould. "The decline in the recovery rate can be attributed to the proliferation of organized vehicle theft over the past five years".
"Auto theft for joy riding has now taken the back seat to auto theft as a part of organized crime, which racked up hundreds of millions of dollars of profits in Toronto last year. Organized criminal groups make a profit by exporting stolen vehicles to foreign countries, or selling their parts in whole or in part for reconstructed vehicles being resold through ads in local media".
KNOW WHO YOU'RE BUYING FROM
These organized groups also are in the business of providing new Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) for stolen cars, making it easier to sell them in Canada. A VIN is 17-character code at the bottom left corner of a vehicle?s front windshield which identifies a vehicle?s characteristics, such as its make, model, and colour, and it is unique to each vehicle.
Some common ways that thieves can obtain a VIN is from vehicles stolen in another province, or by acquiring it from a wrecked vehicle. Last year alone, Police identified more than 500 vehicles in Toronto that had been re-VINed.
As a result of this growing trend, Detective Sergeant Raybould warns the public to be wary of who they purchase a vehicle from.
He recommends buying from a certified automobile dealer such as a member of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association, or someone who they know personally.
CAUTIOUS OF CLASSIFIED ADS
"Be cautious of classified advertisements in newspapers or other publications because they are used as a platform by thieves to sell stolen vehicles to unsuspecting customers".
To ensure the used vehicle you intend to buy is not stolen, Raybould encourages you to research its VIN before you buy the car.
This can be done by visiting the Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau?s website at www.icpb.ca. For a $10 charge, this site can search the history of a VIN, which may tell you about any theft and salvage of the vehicle.
Raybould also recommends asking the seller where they had their vehicle serviced, and going to that service station to inquire about the vehicle. You should ask whether it has qualified for a warranty, and express concern if it has not.
While you should be careful about who you buy your vehicle from, once you do buy a vehicle you should also be careful about protecting it from theft, or else it will be just another statistic.
REDUCING THE RISK
Since no vehicle or geographical area is immune to auto theft, Detective Sergeant Raybould suggests the following steps be taken to reduce the risk of having your vehicle stolen:
- Always close and lock your doors and windows before you leave your vehicle
- Never leave your keys in your vehicle when it is unattended (In 1998, about 20% of the car thefts that occurred in Toronto were the result of drivers leaving their keys in their vehicles)
- When parking in lots, do not leave your car keys with parking attendants
- Car keys should not be hung on keyboards in the home or be visible through windows, they should be kept in a secure place
- Ownership and insurance cards should not be left in your vehicle when it is unattended. This information is valuable to organized theft rings to impersonate you.
- Park in well-lighted and well-traveled areas
- Turn your wheels to the side when you park, which will make your vehicle more difficult to tow for car thieves
BUYING A PEACE OF MIND
In addition to these precautionary measures, Raybould also supports the use of anti-theft devices because they are an impediment for thieves, and thus provide another level of security for vehicles.
He supports the anti theft device standard developed by the Vehicle Information Centre of Canada (VICC) and recommends that people contact the VICC to find out which devices have met the standard.
Insurance companies offer a lower rate for cars equipped with anti-theft devices approved by the VICC. To find out about the systems that have been tested and certified by the association, Raybould suggests visiting their website at www.vicc.com.
"The best prevention against auto theft is making your vehicle more difficult to steal in the first place. This is why immobilizers are a good solution", explains Raybould.
"An immobilizer is a passive anti-theft system which cuts off the fuel, ignition, and starter of the vehicle if it is tampered with, making hot-wiring impossible".
"Etching is another level of deterrence", adds Raybould. "It is a system which permanently marks each window of the vehicle with a VIN or vehicle specific serial number, which means that every window would have to be replaced to re-sell the vehicle".
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Etching also provides a useful system if your car is stolen, since your vehicle registration information and PIN are entered into an International Recovery Network".
Vehicle tracking systems are also effective in locating stolen vehicles. A transmitter is installed in your vehicle which enables it to be tracked using existing cellular network infrastructures, satellite or radio directional finding. The recovery of vehicles equipped with these systems is quick, usually under two hours, which minimizes the damage done to the vehicle.
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
Raybould stresses that everyone who drives a car has a moral responsibility to protect it from being stolen. Preventing the theft of your vehicle will in turn lower the incidence of criminals fleeing police in stolen vehicles and causing unnecessary injuries or death.
This article was prepared in cooperation with the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association. |
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