How Canada became a car theft capital of the world

Nadine Yousif from BBC News in Toronto has reported on how Canada has become a significant hub for car thefts. In Toronto, Joshua Abush designed and installed special driveway bollards for a client to protect their car. These bollards are heated, controlled by a remote, and can go up or down in about 15 seconds. Logan LaFreniere woke up one morning in October 2022 to find his new Ram Rebel truck missing from his driveway. His security camera showed two men breaking into the truck and driving it away. A few months later, the same truck was found for sale on a website in Ghana, over 8,500 kilometers away. Logan recognized the truck because of a laptop holder and some garbage his son had left in it. In 2022, more than 105,000 cars were stolen in Canada, which is about one car every five minutes. Even Canada's federal justice minister had his government-issued Toyota Highlander XLE stolen twice. Interpol has found more than 1,500 cars stolen from Canada since February, and about 200 more are found each week, usually at ports in other countries. Car theft has become such a big problem that the Insurance Bureau of Canada called it a 'national crisis. ' They said insurance companies had to pay out more than C$1. 5 billion in vehicle theft claims last year. Police across Canada have been telling people how to protect their cars from being stolen. Some Canadians have taken extra steps, like installing trackers on their cars or hiring private security. Some people have even installed retractable bollards in their driveways to stop thieves. Nauman Khan, who lives near Toronto, started a business installing these bollards after he and his brother had their cars stolen. In one case, thieves broke into his home while his family was sleeping to look for the car keys. After that, they sold their expensive cars and kept only two simple family vehicles. Nauman now hears similar stories from many people in the Toronto area. He said one client even hired a security guard every night because of so many home invasions on his street. Car thefts in Canada are surprising because the country has a smaller population compared to the US and the UK, which also have high rates of car theft. Alexis Piquero, Director of the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, said Canada doesn't have as many port cities as the US. While the US, Canada, and the UK have all seen more car thefts since the Covid-19 pandemic, Canada's rate of thefts is higher than that of England and Wales and close to that of the US. The rise in car thefts is partly because of a global car shortage during the pandemic, which increased demand for both used and new cars. There is also a growing market for certain car models internationally, making car theft a big money-maker for organized crime groups. Elliott Silverstein from the Canadian Automobile Association said Canada's ports are more vulnerable to car theft because they focus more on what comes into the country than what goes out. Once cars are packed in shipping containers at a port, it becomes harder to find them. In October, Toronto Police announced an 11-month investigation that led to more than 550 charges. Between mid-December and the end of March, border and police officers found nearly 600 stolen cars at the Port of Montreal after checking 400 shipping containers. These operations are hard to do because of the large amount of goods that move through the port. Port staff usually can't inspect containers, and only border officers can open a container without a warrant. The Canada Border Services Agency has also been dealing with not having enough staff and outdated technology. Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, visited a port in New Jersey to compare how the US and Canada inspect containers. He said US authorities have better technology and work closely with local law enforcement. In May, the Canadian government said it would spend millions to help the Canada Border Services Agency search shipping containers. Police will also get more money to fight car theft in their communities. Elliott Silverstein said car manufacturers need to make cars harder to steal. Logan LaFreniere, whose Ram Rebel truck was stolen, replaced it with a Toyota Tundra and added extra security features. Thieves still tried to steal it, breaking a window to get inside. Logan called 911, but the thieves ran away before the police arrived. He fixed his truck and then sold it, calling the experience 'disheartening.