Toronto city council calls for provincial task force on vehicle thefts

Nearly 6,300 cars have been stolen in Toronto this year, a 12 per cent increase over 2020.

Thestar.com
Dec. 21, 2021
Kevin Donovan

Toronto City Council is asking Toronto Police and the province to create a task force to crack down on the soaring number of auto thefts from driveways and parking lots in the city.

Following a motion by Coun. Mike Colle, council voted Friday that it was time to take action.

As of Monday, there had been 6,292 cars stolen in Toronto this year, 12 per cent higher than in 2020, and the numbers have increased year over year. Car thefts are also at a record high in Peel and York regions, and other parts of the province and Canada.

As the Star’s ongoing research shows, police and customs agents have no idea who the masterminds are behind the thefts of Hondas, Lexus, Range Rovers, Ford pickup trucks and other brands that are in heavy demand by so called steal-to-order rings.

“We honestly do not know where to start looking,” one veteran investigator said. “None of the guys we arrest for stealing will say who they are working for.”

Toronto police do not have a dedicated auto theft unit. A conservative estimate puts the total dollar value of thefts this year in the city at $330 million. The most common brands stolen this year have been Honda CR-V and Lexus RX-350. Those two vehicle types make up one-sixth of the vehicles taken from driveways in Toronto, with Range Rovers, Toyota Highlanders and Ford F-150 pickup trucks close behind.

One neighbourhood group supporting the motion from Colle (Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence) wrote to city council that, “There needs to be a Toronto-wide TPS team re-created to work with the surrounding Regions, the OPP, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency.” The Upper Avenue Community Association represents one of the most targeted areas in the city -- a section bounded by Wilson Avenue, Avenue Road, Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue.

A spokesperson for the group, France Rochette, told council her area has seen 53 thefts so far this year, a 55 per cent increase over last year, which was already high.

Colle’s motion asks for Toronto Police Chief James Ramer to look into creating a “policing unit specifically dedicated to fighting the increasing problem of auto theft in Toronto.” Council will also ask the province to work toward creating a task force to “combat this out of control criminal activity that cannot be stopped without Provincial and Federal support.”

Jim Sadler, president of the South Armour Heights Residents’ Association (Highway 401 and Avenue Road area) told council in his letter that Toronto police had a successful “auto theft suppression” unit in 2020 but it was disbanded in early 2021 and numbers of thefts are once again high.

Police have acknowledged that auto theft is related to organized crime and the proceeds of thefts may fund terrorism overseas.

Sadler told council that there is a more local consideration. “Auto theft is not a victimless crime. It causes insurance rates to rise,” he said.

Twenty-two citizen groups and individuals sent letters in support of Colle’s motion.

A spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service said the force will be “thoroughly reviewing” the city council request when it is presented to the Toronto Police Services Board.

“Tackling car thefts is of the utmost importance to the service and we understand the stress and inconvenience it can cause to car owners. We will continue to do all we can to help prevent these types of crimes and find those responsible,” the spokesperson said.

The Star found that most of the vehicles stolen lately get shipped quickly across Canada in a marine container. They are then sent by cargo ship to the Middle East or Africa.

In its ongoing investigation, the Star studied more than 50 home security videos showing the brazen thefts, typically between 1 and 5 a.m., though there have been a few in daylight hours.

While some thieves wear masks, others almost appear to mug for the camera. They use several methods for stealing the cars. Some use the “relay attack” to capture the electronic signature of the key fob inside the homeowner’s house, then open the door of the car and use a diagnostic device to create a new key. Others go old school to jimmy open the car door with a screwdriver, surprisingly easy to do on a Lexus. With the Ford F150, thieves pull the door handle, and use a pair of vice grips to crank the lock open. Once inside, they hook a diagnostic device to create a new key fob.

Where do thieves get blank key fobs to reprogram, some car owners have asked? Car manufacturers, sources say, have seen large quantities of “blank” key fobs go missing, and these are sold to thieves on the dark web, a hidden part of the internet where people can purchase goods anonymously using bitcoin.

In the past two weeks, the Star has interviewed police, customs agents and insurance officials in an attempt to see if any of them have an idea of how the theft system works. While there have been arrests of low-level thieves -- the people who steal the cars -- not a single investigator interviewed by the Star said they have an idea of who organizes these rings.

Low-level thieves have been arrested in York and Peel. Detectives say none of them “talked.” They typically plead guilty to theft, receive probation or occasionally a few weeks in jail, then “are out there doing it again,” one detective said.

One of the people who recently had her car stolen -- a Lexus SUV -- received her car back as it was discovered by police before it could be shipped. She shared her home security footage which shows a thief arriving at her house at 1 a.m., posing as someone delivering food, then unsuccessfully trying to steal her car. She has installed several anti-theft devices and the thief gave up and left.