What's old is new when it comes to battling auto theft - The Globe and Mail

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RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme speaks during a news conference at the National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft, in Ottawa, on Feb. 8.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

On Feb. 8, 2024, the Government of Canada held the “National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft” in Ottawa, convening provincial, territorial and municipal government officials, industry leaders and law enforcement representatives to discuss solutions “to the growing challenge of auto theft in Canada.”

I’m not sure how much of a “challenge” it is. I wouldn’t describe car theft as “a stimulating task or problem.” I’d call it a massive and lucrative criminal enterprise that dates to the earliest days of the automobile. For example, in 1926 R.L. Calder, a former crown attorney in Montreal, suggested to a committee of visiting officials from New York that car thieves be treated in the same manner as horse thieves once were, saying “Car thefts is the basis for organized crime. In the other days the horse thief was hanged, not because of the value of the horses they stole but for the reason that they used the stolen animals as a means of fleeing from their crimes, as the car thief now uses the stolen automobile.”

No one at the “National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft” recommended hanging as a remedy but a lot of what was said has a familiar ring. When it comes to auto theft what’s old is new. Here’s your chance to test your instincts.

Quote from a 1900s Newspaper or the 2024 “National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft”

1. “First things first, we need to stop these criminals who are part of the gangs and organized crime. We’re also looking at further strengthening penalties for anyone who participates in auto theft.”
2. “You hear expressions approaching alarm at the increasing number of thefts of cars last year over the year before.”
3. “On average, a car is stolen every 20 minutes in Montreal.”
4. “Sophisticated transnational organized crime groups have targeted Canada because the risk of prosecution is low, and the financial reward is high.”
5. “We’re dealing now more with sophisticated rings and the value of the vehicles stolen is going up. That costs every other policy-holder. The more we can get a handle on this thing, the better it is for everyone else.”
6. “We want to stop the revolving door of people coming back out on our streets and doing it again. We want to have them locked up. We want to have them in jail.”
7. “Stealing cars is lucrative. Demand is incredibly high. Criminals migrate towards an easy pay day. With little skill, and few consequences, one can steal a vehicle and get cash in return.”
8. “The courts often treat auto theft as a minor offence. Convicted car thieves usually get suspended sentences of probation for their first and second offences. One youth got a suspended sentence after 10 separate convictions.”
9. “There is little inspiration for a police officer to put in the arduous effort required and court the danger present in breaking up an automobile theft ring, when previous experience has taught him that within a month after arrest, the criminals will be at liberty again.”
10. “This car was stamped ‘Unfit For The Road in Ontario.’ Its Vehicle Identification Number was erased from the computer in Ontario. This car – and its VIN number – doesn’t exist anymore in Ontario. So somebody from Quebec went to the scrapyard in Ontario and bought it. They may have paid as much as $1,000 for this wreck. Quebec (has) become the garbage can for Ontario’s wrecks. There are as many as 10 flatbed trucks bringing them in every week. The thieves remove the VIN number from the wrecked car and go out and steal a car just like it. They replace it’s VIN number with the one from the wreck. Then they register the stolen car using the wrecked car’s number.”
11. “One of the principal aspects of the Criminal Code is acting as a deterrent for criminal behaviour – we need to be understanding that and how we can improve the tools in the code to emphasize that deterrent effect.”
12. “Auto theft is not a victimless crime.”
13. “Only stiff jail sentences will stop this increasingly serious outbreak of crime.”
14. “This is a game of cat and mouse. These are sophisticated, international organized crime groups that are constantly trying to stay one step ahead of manufacturers by investing in technologies that will effectively break through the security systems.”
15. “Automobile theft is the third most prevalent crime and second costliest in North America. And Quebec far outdistances the rest of Canada.”
16. “(Police) say sentences are too lenient. Judges ask if the crime resulted in any injuries and then sentence the often non-violent car thieves to serve their sentence on weekends.”
17. “We further recognize that combatting auto theft requires a whole-of-society effort, with full cooperation between all governments, municipalities, law enforcement and private-sector partners.”
18. “Chances are about one in four that some day your car will be stolen.”
19. “Jail, not bail.”
20. “Toronto is getting aggressively up-to-date – the first automobile has been stolen.

Answers:

1900s Newspapers: 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20

National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft: 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 18

Both: 13, 19

Answer Key:

1. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 2024
2. Vancouver Daily World, 1917
3. The Montreal Gazette, 1988
4. Canadian Vehicles Manufacturers Association chief executive Brian Kingston, 2024
5. Stan Griffin, Ontario vice-president for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, 1997
6. Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, 2024
7. Chief of the Toronto Police Service Myron Demkiw, 2024
8. The Hamilton Spectator, 1970
9. Saskatoon Star Phoenix, May 1927
10. The Montreal Gazette, 1988
11. Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani, 2024
12. BOTH – Federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Canadian Newswire, 1999
13. The Edmonton Bulletin, 1951
14. Brian Kingston, head of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association on CBC Radio’s The House, 2024
15. The Montreal Gazette, 1968
16. The Montreal Gazette, 1988
17. “National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft” Statement of Intent – 2024
18. Toronto Star, 1978
19. BOTH – Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre 2024 (commenting on car theft) and U.S. News & World Report, 1995
20. Toronto Star, 1901

Have you had your car stolen? Are you taking steps to prevent it from happening?

As vehicle thefts become more frequent, The Globe wants to hear from readers about their experiences. Has your car been stolen? Were you able to get it back? Do you know the details of how your car was stolen? Have you had a close call? Share your experience or steps you've taken to avoid it below.

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