Auto Theft
The theft of your vehicle or a theft from your vehicle can be a big inconvenience and sometimes a traumatic experience. There are some simple things that you can do every day to dramatically decrease your chance of auto theft. Most of them you already know – BUT do you practice them?
The Alberta Rural Crime Watch Association has the following Top 10 Tips to Avoid Being a Victim of Auto Theft:
- Ensure your doors are always locked and the keys in your pocket
- Always park in well-lit areas
- Never leave money in plain sight (This includes even small change)
- Always roll up your car windows
- Put shopping bags, parcels, and valuables out of sight in the trunk
- If you have a garage, park your vehicle in it
- Keep your vehicle registration and proof of insurance on you (not in the glovebox)
- Take electronics, including cell phone with you
- Don’t leave your car running while unattended
- If parking in the same parking lot, park in a different spot every day
If you follow these 10 tips, your chances of vehicle theft and theft from a vehicle will be greatly reduced.
As I’ve written before in an Identity Theft article, #7 vehicle registration and insurance cards in the glovebox, are good sources of personal information for those committing identity theft, so not only can you have your vehicle stolen, but your identity as well.
An Alberta Provincial Rural Crime Watch awareness campaign targeted motor vehicle thefts in the Red Deer RCMP detachment area in 2019. The Alberta Crime Watch Association established an Ad campaign starting October 1, 2020 and running through to Dec 31, 2020. The target area was an 18km radius around the city of Red Deer reaching west to Sylvan Lake, East to Delburne, North to Blackfalds and south to Penhold.
The ad campaign resulted in a 32% reduction in motor vehicle thefts in the six-month period from October 2020 to April 2021 for the Red Deer / Blackfalds areas compared to the same time period 2019/2020. The message was simple: Lock Your Vehicle.
You’ve all seen the lists that get published about once a year that show the top 10 types of vehicles stolen. The criteria vary among the different lists so you can wind up with different vehicle listings, but Driving.ca listed the following vehicles as the most stolen cars in 2021: Hondas (CR-V, Civic & Accord), Lexus’s, Toyotas (Highlander & Corolla), and Chrysler vans. However, trucks – Ford, GM & Dodge were also in the top ten. Truck thefts are especially high in Alberta due there being so many trucks. The Ford 350 and 250 4WD trucks are particularly vulnerable.
For those of us in rural areas, make it a practice to never leave your keys in the ignition when you park in your driveway, even if it’s only for a short while. Either take the keys with you or hide them in the vehicle. If a thief doesn’t see the keys in the ignition, he’ll assume you’ve taken them with you. I am aware of a vehicle theft a few years ago where someone had left their keys in their vehicle while parked in their yard. A car came flying into the driveway, the thief jumped out of the vehicle he was in, jumped in the new vehicle and drove off in a cloud of dust. Less than a minute and the vehicle was gone.
What happens to a stolen vehicle? Locally, with the high prices being commanded/ paid for used vehicles, your stolen vehicle can simply be re-sold as is, re-VINed, or chopped and used for parts. Stolen vehicles are often used for the commitment of crimes, especially in rural areas including ours, as thieves need a vehicle to get out here.
On a global scale, within hours your vehicle can be at a port headed to another country. Interpol states, “For organized criminal groups, the acquisition, shipment, and trade of stolen vehicles is a low-risk way to make profits. Stolen vehicles are frequently trafficked in order to finance and carry out other criminal activities, ranging from drug trafficking, arms dealing, people smuggling and international terrorism.”
So maybe dig out that red steering wheel club that you don’t use anymore. A thief can still cut through it, but more than likely he’s going to move on to another, easier vehicle that doesn’t have one. Unfortunately, that may not reduce vehicle theft in general, but it will reduce the theft of your vehicle.
Dave Schroeder
HCRCWA Board Member
