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A countrywide plan to combat auto theft has led to a 19 per cent decline, says the latest update from the federal government.
“According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, national auto theft trends for 2024 have shown a 19 per cent decline in auto theft in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year,” per a news release by Public Safety Canada, published on Oct. 16.
That percentage is based on “a slight dip” — 19 per cent — in insurance claims for auto theft in the first half of 2024, the Insurance Bureau of Canada said in early October.
Public Safety Canada added that more than 1,900 stolen vehicles were intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in railyards and ports in 2024, already exceeding last year’s total. Roughly a third of the stolen vehicles — 620 of them — were intercepted in the Greater Toronto Area this year.
Over the weekend, Treasury Board President and Minister of Transport Anita Anand wrote an open letter in an effort to get countrywide cooperation when it comes to stopping auto theft, the Canadian Press reported.
Anand said she wanted to collaborate with the provinces and territories to find ways to put an end to thieves “revinning” stolen cars, which is one way they’re able to resell cars. Revinning refers to changing a Vehicle Identification Number — a combination of numbers unique to a vehicle and used to identify it — most likely for the purpose of evading law enforcement.
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Efforts to curb the massive amount of auto thefts within the country have ramped up since February, when a summit on the subject was held with government officials, police and industry professionals. The National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft was created to dismantle organized crime rings and prosecute those behind the car thefts.
Among the updates from the most recent news release, the government said the RCMP received 2,310 alerts about Canadian vehicles through INTERPOL’s stolen motor vehicle database from February to August. It also said that in April, nearly 600 stolen vehicles were recovered from the Port of Montreal.
“Most stolen vehicles exported are destined for Africa and the Middle East. Some stolen vehicles also remain in Canada, enabling other crimes to be committed with the vehicles, and are destroyed afterwards,” per the release.
Despite the positive results, the Insurance Bureau of Canada said that auto theft continued to rise “above historic levels.”
Insurance claims for auto thefts have decreased recently, but auto theft claims have risen more than 138 per cent over the past decade, per the bureau. It also said the value of the claims has “skyrocketed by 442 per cent” in 10 years.
In May, the bureau said the value of insurance claims for auto insurance hit $1.5 billion for the first time ever in 2023.
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