While we’re waiting for improved technology, it would be nice if the police started to view their role in all this as more than just rubber stamping the insurance paperwork.
Great article! I'm surprised to see only passing mention, though, of the importance of securing our ports. I've been hearing stories of port corruption and inadequate port security since I was a teenager.
Stolen cars aren't cocaine, they can't be stuffed into pickle jars. They weigh thousands of pounds and they're the size of a parking stall. What has to routinely make it undetected through our ports before we feel some sense of alarm about the implications, stolen circus elephants?
There is precisely ZERO political appetite to even PRETEND to be paying any attention to what's going on at the Port of Montreal. No one wants to start cracking that particular Pandora's box open.
Shame on me, I watched the show but didn't remember the role of the Port. I was more focused on the Ontario locales as I was furiously trying to recognize the ones I knew.
It's also possible for vehicles to be located before they reach a port (at which time it's really too late). CBC Radio in TO did a piece a few weeks ago about a vehicle stolen in Toronto - the owner had an Apple Air Tag in the veh & he found that it was in the railway yard in York Region. But neither Toronto Police or York Region Police could do anything because the rail yard is under jurisdiction of railway police. The owner tracked the vehicle to Port of Montreal & eventually overseas. Somewhere along the line CBSA had jurisdiction (maybe when the container got put on a ship?). There needs to be seamless co-ordination between all these agencies also. When a vehicle owner knows where the car is it shouldn't be that difficult to recover it before it gets on a ship.
Old devices such as the steering wheel club and the brake pedal club work perfectly for Luddites such as myself. Yes, some thieves come equipped with a saws-all to cut steering wheel to get the club off, but it’s not as easy to get the brake pedal club off. These devices are cheap and readily available at automotive parts stores and even with a saws-all, removing them is a noisy business. Best solution is to keep vehicle locked and in your locked garage if you have one. If you’re using your garage to store furniture and other stuff you may or may not use at some future time, get a storage locker and move it. Cost of a storage locker is far less than the cost you’ll pay if your luxury Lexus or Grand Cherokee is stolen from your driveway, right under your nose.
Bringing back keyed ignitions with an immobilizer would reduce professional auto thefts considerably.
Push button starts were always a solution looking for a problem, much like other unnecessary auto tech that eventually fail with use and age such as TPMS, electric parking brakes, power sliding doors (not an exhaustive list 😉 and don't get me started on emission control tech after the exhaust manifold).
Auto tech needs a revolution in simplification and/or elimination.
I would kill for a new car with 1970s basics: a physical key, windows I can open when the car isn't running, no silly traction control that brakes my car and causes it to stall on a wee bit of gravel, etc. I don't want to drive what's essentially half a dozen computers in a metal shell.
I hear you. Every once in awhile on a long trip I'll rent a new car, and I've never had an experience where I felt the need to 'upgrade'. Lane assist, adaptive cruise - I turn them off if at all possible - it's frankly a bit unnerving to have something take control of the vehicle like that, but I'm a dinosaur that learned on (and still prefers) a manual transmission. Obviously some of these enhancements are intended to help keep people safe, but I wonder if people's defensive driving skills gradually erode (or worse, never develop) when everything is turned over to electronic systems - what happens when they malfunction or fail altogether? If everyone's always on auto-pilot, who will know how to operate these vehicles when these 'safety' systems are not working properly?
I'm with you, I think there would be a huge market for back-to-basics, technology-streamlined vehicles without so many interconnected computer modules woven together in a delicate web of wires and subject to a corroded ground connection on the underside of the vehicle. I'd sure consider buying them!
An offbeat, well-researched, slyly humorous article about an important topic. Thank you. I suppose it stands to reason that when assets are expensive and important constituents of wealth, sets of $50,000 moveable assets sitting outside on streets and in people's driveways would eventually be targeted by somebody. Why break into someone's house when the priciest thing he owns lies unguarded in front of it?
Mark, for the vast majority of folks your article is right on but for the folks in Toronro and Montreal (to a lesser extent) who drive expensive imports and large SUVs and pickups a garage is the place to put the vehicle. Granted, a determined thief will still be able to steal it but ...
As far as Regina goes, yes we had a real issue but it was gangs and gang initiations for the most part with the odd 'crime of opportunity' (I'm jsut running in for five minutes and it is GD cold out here so I'lll let it run. Heck, the insurance company doesn't penalize me anyway!)) thrown in for good measure. It was primarrily Hondas as well because, apparently, their ignition systems were easy to bypass.
One issue I do see is that the keyless ignition vehicles don't require the key to be in proximity to keep running. The first keyless I drove was a rental Focus about 12 years ago (hardly a high end import) and, if memory serves, the key needed to be in the car to run. I asked the dealer about the Mercedes we have that has a keyless ignition and to my amamzement, it will run for ever if you just keep putting fuel in it and if you don't shut it off! Now that is smart technology!! Seems to me that if the car is smart enough to know the key is there before it starts then it should be smart enough to know if the key is there before it goes into drive but ... brighter minds than mine designed that system!
As an aside, a four year old Mercedes with low km on it is cheaper than a new Accord and the Mercedes came with a six year service package and six year warranty. Would never be able to afford a new one but I can drive used!
Since you seem to be from Regina and are arguing for the cheapness of Mercedes - it made me think of one of the funniest exchanges of memos I've ever seen in archival research.
It was 1962. A guy by the name of Cass-Beggs was President of SaskPower. People like him got a government car drive, but one criteria was that it could not cost more than $2,000 to purchase. Cass-Begg's assistant sent a memo to the Minister Responsible making the case that the purchase price ceiling should be waived so that Cass-Beggs could get a Mercedes. There were about 3 pages of math - depreciation rates, etc. - to make the argument that a Mercedes was actually cheaper than a Chev. The Minister sent the request on the Woodrow Lloyd - Finance Minister at the time.
Lloyd rejected the request, saying he ignored every figure except the first one - the purchase price.
Great story Mark! I was actually shocked to see how much an E class depreciates in just four years even with just 75,000 k on it. As an aside, my 'work truck' is an SGI salvage unit that was owned by none other than SaskPower (written off in a hail storm at six years of age with 11,000 km).
I'm curious about the thieves organizations. Is there a gang-specific strategy to employ as well? The 'dads at the hockey rink' theory often points to the Six Nations reservation. Some legit media sources have partially corroborated this. We either need to shut down the racism if it's simply that, or find a way to work with and resource Six Nations and other indigenous police if reservation-based rings are a significant contributor to the problem.
Criminal intelligence: Police undercover infiltration and criminal informant cultivation are expensive but need to be invested in.
While we’re waiting for improved technology, it would be nice if the police started to view their role in all this as more than just rubber stamping the insurance paperwork.
Right you are. Lock up some thieves. It is remarkable how few thieves account for how many thefts.
Great article! I'm surprised to see only passing mention, though, of the importance of securing our ports. I've been hearing stories of port corruption and inadequate port security since I was a teenager.
Stolen cars aren't cocaine, they can't be stuffed into pickle jars. They weigh thousands of pounds and they're the size of a parking stall. What has to routinely make it undetected through our ports before we feel some sense of alarm about the implications, stolen circus elephants?
There is precisely ZERO political appetite to even PRETEND to be paying any attention to what's going on at the Port of Montreal. No one wants to start cracking that particular Pandora's box open.
Which makes me that much more curious - what IS going on at the Port of Montreal?
According to everyone in a position of authority, nothing unusual or nefarious at all!
I can't wait to say the bad-blood-like fictionalization of that story about the port of montreal.
Actually the is the book and TV series Bad Blood where the Port is a central "character". Try Netflix for the series and for the book https://www.amazon.com/Business-Blood-Mafia-Boss-Rizzutos-ebook/dp/B00MKZ3VY0.
Shame on me, I watched the show but didn't remember the role of the Port. I was more focused on the Ontario locales as I was furiously trying to recognize the ones I knew.
It's also possible for vehicles to be located before they reach a port (at which time it's really too late). CBC Radio in TO did a piece a few weeks ago about a vehicle stolen in Toronto - the owner had an Apple Air Tag in the veh & he found that it was in the railway yard in York Region. But neither Toronto Police or York Region Police could do anything because the rail yard is under jurisdiction of railway police. The owner tracked the vehicle to Port of Montreal & eventually overseas. Somewhere along the line CBSA had jurisdiction (maybe when the container got put on a ship?). There needs to be seamless co-ordination between all these agencies also. When a vehicle owner knows where the car is it shouldn't be that difficult to recover it before it gets on a ship.
Ports are indeed important - but I figured I'd focus on the intake end of the pipe rather than the outlet.
Old devices such as the steering wheel club and the brake pedal club work perfectly for Luddites such as myself. Yes, some thieves come equipped with a saws-all to cut steering wheel to get the club off, but it’s not as easy to get the brake pedal club off. These devices are cheap and readily available at automotive parts stores and even with a saws-all, removing them is a noisy business. Best solution is to keep vehicle locked and in your locked garage if you have one. If you’re using your garage to store furniture and other stuff you may or may not use at some future time, get a storage locker and move it. Cost of a storage locker is far less than the cost you’ll pay if your luxury Lexus or Grand Cherokee is stolen from your driveway, right under your nose.
There are YouTube videos that show Club locks picked in under one minute. No saws required.
Great analysis.
Bringing back keyed ignitions with an immobilizer would reduce professional auto thefts considerably.
Push button starts were always a solution looking for a problem, much like other unnecessary auto tech that eventually fail with use and age such as TPMS, electric parking brakes, power sliding doors (not an exhaustive list 😉 and don't get me started on emission control tech after the exhaust manifold).
Auto tech needs a revolution in simplification and/or elimination.
I would kill for a new car with 1970s basics: a physical key, windows I can open when the car isn't running, no silly traction control that brakes my car and causes it to stall on a wee bit of gravel, etc. I don't want to drive what's essentially half a dozen computers in a metal shell.
I hear you. Every once in awhile on a long trip I'll rent a new car, and I've never had an experience where I felt the need to 'upgrade'. Lane assist, adaptive cruise - I turn them off if at all possible - it's frankly a bit unnerving to have something take control of the vehicle like that, but I'm a dinosaur that learned on (and still prefers) a manual transmission. Obviously some of these enhancements are intended to help keep people safe, but I wonder if people's defensive driving skills gradually erode (or worse, never develop) when everything is turned over to electronic systems - what happens when they malfunction or fail altogether? If everyone's always on auto-pilot, who will know how to operate these vehicles when these 'safety' systems are not working properly?
I'm with you, I think there would be a huge market for back-to-basics, technology-streamlined vehicles without so many interconnected computer modules woven together in a delicate web of wires and subject to a corroded ground connection on the underside of the vehicle. I'd sure consider buying them!
Don't kill for the car - you would not get to drive it.
Could it be that Guilbeault is actually the mastermind behind all this car theft as part of his EV transition program?
Comes from Montreal…. Just sayin’.
I wonder at what rate computers (read: teslas) get stolen, given that they can be tracked and disabled once stolen?
The more cars stolen, the more replacements manufacturers can sell. They will not willingly secure their products. Bad for business.
An offbeat, well-researched, slyly humorous article about an important topic. Thank you. I suppose it stands to reason that when assets are expensive and important constituents of wealth, sets of $50,000 moveable assets sitting outside on streets and in people's driveways would eventually be targeted by somebody. Why break into someone's house when the priciest thing he owns lies unguarded in front of it?
Mark, for the vast majority of folks your article is right on but for the folks in Toronro and Montreal (to a lesser extent) who drive expensive imports and large SUVs and pickups a garage is the place to put the vehicle. Granted, a determined thief will still be able to steal it but ...
As far as Regina goes, yes we had a real issue but it was gangs and gang initiations for the most part with the odd 'crime of opportunity' (I'm jsut running in for five minutes and it is GD cold out here so I'lll let it run. Heck, the insurance company doesn't penalize me anyway!)) thrown in for good measure. It was primarrily Hondas as well because, apparently, their ignition systems were easy to bypass.
One issue I do see is that the keyless ignition vehicles don't require the key to be in proximity to keep running. The first keyless I drove was a rental Focus about 12 years ago (hardly a high end import) and, if memory serves, the key needed to be in the car to run. I asked the dealer about the Mercedes we have that has a keyless ignition and to my amamzement, it will run for ever if you just keep putting fuel in it and if you don't shut it off! Now that is smart technology!! Seems to me that if the car is smart enough to know the key is there before it starts then it should be smart enough to know if the key is there before it goes into drive but ... brighter minds than mine designed that system!
As an aside, a four year old Mercedes with low km on it is cheaper than a new Accord and the Mercedes came with a six year service package and six year warranty. Would never be able to afford a new one but I can drive used!
Since you seem to be from Regina and are arguing for the cheapness of Mercedes - it made me think of one of the funniest exchanges of memos I've ever seen in archival research.
It was 1962. A guy by the name of Cass-Beggs was President of SaskPower. People like him got a government car drive, but one criteria was that it could not cost more than $2,000 to purchase. Cass-Begg's assistant sent a memo to the Minister Responsible making the case that the purchase price ceiling should be waived so that Cass-Beggs could get a Mercedes. There were about 3 pages of math - depreciation rates, etc. - to make the argument that a Mercedes was actually cheaper than a Chev. The Minister sent the request on the Woodrow Lloyd - Finance Minister at the time.
Lloyd rejected the request, saying he ignored every figure except the first one - the purchase price.
Great story Mark! I was actually shocked to see how much an E class depreciates in just four years even with just 75,000 k on it. As an aside, my 'work truck' is an SGI salvage unit that was owned by none other than SaskPower (written off in a hail storm at six years of age with 11,000 km).
I would LOVE a used Mercedes, but it's really difficult to find a Mercedes with a manual transmission in Canada. Sigh.
Standard transmission - millenial anti theft device!
Yup! But my insurance company doesn't give me a discount for that!
I'm curious about the thieves organizations. Is there a gang-specific strategy to employ as well? The 'dads at the hockey rink' theory often points to the Six Nations reservation. Some legit media sources have partially corroborated this. We either need to shut down the racism if it's simply that, or find a way to work with and resource Six Nations and other indigenous police if reservation-based rings are a significant contributor to the problem.
Criminal intelligence: Police undercover infiltration and criminal informant cultivation are expensive but need to be invested in.