GTA police have received $121 millions from the feds and are placing gangs and organized auto thieves on notice.
The federal government has given $121 million to the OPP and municipal police to fight guns, gang and increasingly violent auto thefts.
The problem of car theft is so great that Canada has been flagged by Interpol as being a major source of car thefts in the world.
More than 12,000 vehicles were stolen in Toronto in 2023, a 24.4 per cent increase over the previous year. That steep jump followed a 45 per cent jump in 2022, according to police stastics.
Police say Canada has been flagged by Interpol as a source of car thefts in the world.
There has also been a rise in violent carjackings, according to GTA police, as well as an increase in break-and-enters — sometimes by armed perpetrators — for the purpose of stealing ignition fobs.
“That is terrifying for people … to face that kind of fear in their own homes, the place where they should feel safest,” said Minister of Justice Arif Virani on announcing the funding on January 31.
In South Etobicoke three homes were broken into in one night by thieves in search of the homeowner’s cay keys. Two young offenders were among three people charged.
Premier Doug Ford said thieves are flying into Toronto for weeks at a time to steal vehicles and then return home.
Police say auto thieves are flying here for days at a time to steal vehicles which are placed in containers and shipped across the world.
“You’re breaking into someone’s home with a weapon and threatening families? You should be going to jail, no matter what,” Ford said. “Throw them in jail for 10 years.’’
Ford said there should be tougher rules including jail time for those being released on bail.
Federal Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc there will be an auto-theft summit in Ottawa on February 8 involving law enforcement, the auto and insurance industries, the Canada Border Services Agency, insurance companies and other parties.
The government said gangs steal cars and work with organized-crime groups to send them in containers to the Middle East and Africa, or use them within Canada to commit crimes or change vehicle numbers and sell them.
The thieves break into homes with guns to steal the keys of cars while terrorizing homeowners.
Ontario has suffered over $700 million in auto losses province-wide in 2022, and over $500 million worth of vehicles stolen in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) alone,” police said.
More than 30 vehicles are stolen every day in Toronto. More than 1,200 vehicles were stolen in South Etobicoke last year.
Peel Regional Police said from January to December last year some 7,637 vehicle thefts were reported across both cities. There were 4,334 vehicles stolen in Mississauga and 3,303 in Brampton.
The announcement was made at York Regional Police, where last month some 96 criminal charges were laid after police recovered 52 stolen vehicles worth more than $3.2 million.