Greater Action to Fight Auto Theft in Toronto
SUMMARY:
Auto theft has reached unprecedented and epidemic levels in Toronto and the GTA. The Toronto Police Service estimates that 5,347 cars have been stolen in the City so far this year. Auto theft is not a victimless crime but rather it is violent, dangerous and linked various organized criminal activities. Cars are being stolen and carjacked right out of driveways, loaded into cargo containers and shipped out of Canadian ports to be sold overseas to help fund organized crime
Auto theft does not respect municipal and provincial boundaries and according to analysis conducted by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, there were over 12,000 auto theft claims in Ontario in 2020, an increase 55% between2016-2020.[1] The value of these claims totalled $250.7 million, an increase of 149% over this same period. This costs all vehicle owners, especially in Toronto. A recent Toronto Star article estimates that auto insurance rates in Toronto are 13-15% higher than the rest of Ontario to pay for the high rate of vehicle theft in the City.
While auto thefts have been on the rise there is no longer a dedicated unit to address this issue in the Toronto Police Service and some other Ontario municipal police services. In an effort to address operational priorities and pressures the unit that previously existed to address issues such as high end auto thefts was disbanded and investigations of this nature are handled at the unit level.
Auto theft costs Canadians billions of dollars each year. Our local Toronto Police Service cannot deal with this significant criminal industry without Provincial and Federal support.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Toronto City Council request the Toronto Police Services Board to engage with Chief of Police James Ramer to:
a. determine the resources required to re-establish a policing unit specifically dedicated to fighting the increasing problem of auto theft in Toronto.
b. The unit be mandated to conduct proactive investigations with partner agencies across Ontario, to ensure greater information sharing and coordination of investigations into high end auto thefts
2. Toronto City Council requests that Province of Ontario and Government of Canada recognize the urgent need to work with and provide resources to the Toronto Police Service to combat this out control criminal activity that cannot be stopped without Provincial and Federal support.
3. Toronto City Council call on the Government of Ontario to join with the Toronto Police Service and other municipal police services in creating a Provincial/Municipal Auto Theft Task Force to combat this epidemic of auto theft.
Date: December 15th and 16th, 2021
