Thefts of vehicles continue to increase, impacting Kingston dealerships, drivers
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by HAVEN HOME HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING[1]
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Drivers make their way along Princess Street near the intersection of Taylor-Kidd and John Counter boulevards in Kingston on Thursday. Photo by Elliot Ferguson /The Whig-Standard
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Local dealerships and new car owners continue to struggle as the demand for stolen vehicles on the black market increases and continues to plague Ontarians.
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“It is always fuelled by profit,” Det. Insp. Scott Wade of the Ontario Provincial Police and the newly formed Organized Crime Towing and Auto Theft Team, said in an interview on Wednesday. “The profit margin in this illegal auto theft industry has gone up, and organized crime groups recognize that and they want to get into the illegal market.”
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According to the Equite Association, a partner of the OPP, between 2014 and 2021 there was a 72 per cent increase in vehicle thefts across Ontario.
“In Ontario, a car is stolen every 48 minutes,” a statement provided by the OPP said. “Trends are continuing in 2023, with auto theft rates in Ontario off to a record start.”
According to the Kingston Police’s 2022 annual report[4] presented to the force’s governing board in July, there were 178 incidents of vehicle theft in 2021 and 284 in 2022.
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Even with these numbers, Kingston does not make the top 10 cities with the highest volume of auto thefts. The top three cities for vehicle thefts are Toronto, Brampton and Aurora. They’re followed by Ottawa, Hamilton, Oakville, London, Whitby, Cambridge and Niagara Falls.
Kingston Police did not make anyone available for comment.
The statement noted that while Toronto had the highest volume of thefts between 2020 and 2022, the municipalities surrounding the provincial capital experienced a higher percentage increase overall. The vehicles taken were mainly manufactured between 2017 to present.
“This demonstrates the fact that auto theft is a growing, provincewide issue, and that vehicles in rural areas are just as susceptible to be stolen as those in urban areas,” the statement said, adding that, “New, luxury vehicles are sold by organized crime groups for maximum profit in overseas sales.”
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Shaun Whitman, general manager of Thompson Chrysler on Gardiners Road, knows this all too well. In his 15 years in the business, he’s never seen cases of vehicle theft become so prevalent.
The local dealership was forced to call Kingston Police last year when a fully loaded 2022 Dodge Ram Sport was stolen off the lot. He said looking at the security video, the thieves were aiming to take three more but were spooked and took off with just one.
A few weeks later, in the summer of 2022, he received a phone call from a holding yard in Montreal. One of the dealership’s trucks had been found by authorities in a shipping container bound for overseas. The yard didn’t say why officials had searched the container or where it was bound.
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“It was surprising,” Whitman said. “We didn’t think we’d ever see it again. We were about to put through a claim, but we figured we’d give it a few weeks, and then we got the call (from Montreal).”
Wade said the OPP have investigated vehicles stolen from dealerships, but they’ve also seen never-driven vehicles stolen before they even hit the market.
Whitman said that in the past year, roughly six customers have returned to them reporting their new vehicles had been stolen out of their driveways. The vehicles included Dodge Durangos and Ford Rangers.
Vehicle thefts in eastern Ontario on rise: OPP
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Kingston Police investigating multiple vehicle thefts
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Not only did the dealership have to pay to have its truck shipped back, but the interior computer had also been torn out. It was able to fix and sell the vehicle, but that wasn’t the only cost. Last fall, the dealership installed a heavy gate system and limestone boulders out front so it would be much more difficult for thieves to get away with a vehicle.
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The dealership’s insurance also nearly doubled.
Scott Douglas, managing partner of BMW Kingston, said in an email that despite vehicle antitheft technology, which makes vehicles “very difficult to steal,” insurance deductibles also “increased exponentially.” None of its vehicles have been stolen off its lot but the dealership has still taken “every measure possible to secure our lot to protect our cars.”
David Pascoal, general manager of Kingston Dodge Chrysler, reported that none of its vehicles have been stolen off the lot and credited heavy security for that record. Not only are there gates and cameras, but the dealership also has large posts so it is next to impossible to drive a vehicle off the lot.
Unfortunately, customers have had their new vehicles stolen once they had taken it home.
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“Up until 2022, it was really rare for this to happen,” Pascoal said. “We’re not seeing 20 people a year, but we might see five. Which is a lot more than one a year. …
“There are years without one even. … This is a pretty new thing that the average customer is dealing with.”
Most stolen vehicles in 2022
- Honda CR-V
- Dodge Ram 1500
- Lexus RX Series
- Toyota Highlander
- Ford F150 Series
- Honda Civic
- Range Rover Sport
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Jeep Wrangler
- Honda Accord
- Toyota Corolla
- Toyota Rav4
- Range Rover
- Acura RDX
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500
On Thursday, the OPP and the Windsor Police celebrated the success of Project Fairfield, a joint investigation that recovered 138 stolen vehicles and resulted in 23 accused facing a combined 279 criminal charges. The vehicles were stolen by a “sophisticated crime group” in the Windsor and southwestern Ontario region.
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Vehicles were then being exported to other countries, including Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“We do see a large percentage of vehicles shipped overseas,” Wade said, speaking generally. “Often their value can be greatly increased by entering another country’s market. … There’s no one area (the vehicles) are going to. They really are going all over the world, in some cases. There seems like there are hotbeds where they’re, say, going to the Middle East and then going into European countries.
“We’re seeing them all over, sadly.”
According to the OPP, Project Fairfield’s stolen vehicles were found in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.
Wade said that while the exportation of stolen vehicles is a global issue, the OPP is not aware of any stolen vehicles being imported into Canada.
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“Policing has always been aware of the auto theft issue — there are dips and rises — but now what we’re really seeing is the connection to organized crime,” Wade said. “The connection to violence. This is impacting the public in a ‘public safety’ way and we have to recognize that and make sure we have the appropriate response.”
That was demonstrated during Project Fairfield, which resulted in the seizure of $506,000 worth of illicit substances, $144,635 in Canadian currency and $26,698 in United States currency.
Some of those substances and cash were seized on Highway 401 near Kingston last December 2022 when a known stolen vehicle was stopped. The vehicle had been “re-vinned.” This is when a vehicle’s identification number is modified so it can be resold through the used market.
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The traffic stop resulted in the seizure of 14,914 synthetic opioid tablets.
Wade said re-vinned vehicles are often resold to unsuspecting customers, who are then driving around in a stolen vehicle without their knowledge. They are also often used in the commission of other crimes.
“Drug trafficking, drive-by shootings, these are the serious and violent nature of the crimes,” Wade said. “That is what we need to recognize. It’s not just a property crime. This is something that affects us all financially, socioeconomically, but also from a safety issue.”
Have you had a new vehicle stolen? Send us opinions, comments and other feedback. Letters may be emailed to [email protected][9].
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References
- ^ Link to HAVEN HOME HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING Advertorial (Leaving The Kingston Whig Standard) (www.havenhomeclimatecare.ca)
- ^ News (www.thewhig.com)
- ^ Local News (www.thewhig.com)
- ^ Kingston Police’s 2022 annual report (www.kingstonpolice.ca)
- ^ Vehicle thefts in eastern Ontario on rise: OPP (www.thewhig.com)
- ^ Kingston Police investigating multiple vehicle thefts (www.thewhig.com)
- ^ [email protected] (www.thewhig.com)
- ^ twitter.com/StephattheWhig (www.twitter.com)
- ^ [email protected] (www.thewhig.com)
- ^ Community Guidelines (www.thewhig.com)
- ^ email settings (www.thewhig.com)