BY JASON
THOMPSON
Between Jan. 1 and July 17 this year, 300 vehicles were stolen in
the City of Greater Sudbury. According to police, only 19 of the
300 have yet to be recovered.
The majority of the stolen vehicles are eventually returned to the
owners but whether or not they’re in the same condition
is a different matter.
Greater Sudbury Police Cst. Bert Lapalme says catching and
prosecuting these thieves is no easy task.
“If we make an arrest, then we have some idea where
these vehicles are going and where the thieves are coming from, but
for the most part, we recover the vehicles after the fact. A lot of
the time we don’t end up laying charges because
it’s difficult to get any kind of fingerprint evidence
from a vehicle,” said Lapalme.
“The vehicles that are stolen then recovered were
probably either taken for a joy ride or used to commit break and
enters...they’re then abandoned and it’s
difficult to get some forensic evidence out of them.”
Lapalme said he expects most of the vehicles not recovered have
been stripped and their parts resold.
According to information on the Insurance Bureau of
Canada’s (ICB) website, “chop shops,”
which are often run by organized crime rings, are used to strip
vehicles and sell the components - often to legitimate businesses
that have no idea the parts are stolen. The ICB says chop shops are
a big business that account for millions of dollars a year in
profit for criminals.
“Quite a few of the 19 (not recovered vehicles) are
actually pickup trucks,” said Lapalme. Parts for pickup
trucks are on demand.
“Dodge is still a very common make for theft, the vans
and the pickups. It’s a brand that they have easier
access to getting the vehicle started,” he said.
“The North American vehicles are certainly more common
(for theft) while your imports are a little more difficult to steal
just because of some of the safety features.”
Lapalme said the 19 missing vehicles are a mix of Dodge, GMC,
Saturn, Ford and a couple of imports. The Ford vehicles that were
stolen are a pair of F-250 4x4 super cab pickup trucks taken right
off the lot at Cambrian Ford.
Because of the safety and anti-theft features found on most new
vehicles, Lapalme said he’s surprised those two were
stolen.
“(Thieves) tend to go with older models because
they’re easier to steal. Most people will take something
that they know they can get into quickly.”
In the case of the imports, one was taken after someone broke
into a house and grabbed the keys for the car. The other was stolen
when the keys were left inside it. “Alarm systems are
great, but it’s an expense that people can’t
always afford. Having said that, more and more companies are coming
up with factory-made alarm systems,” said Lapalme.
In November 2005, the ICB released a list of Canada’s
Top 10 stolen vehicles. The Honda Civic SiR two-door is the top car
on the list while the Honda Civic, regardless of the specifics,
accounts for half the Top 10 list.
If you’re driving a four-door 1998 Lincoln
Continental, a four-door 2001 Pontiac Bonneville or a 2002
Oldsmobile Silhouette, the ICB says you’re behind the
wheel of one of the least stolen vehicles.
According to the ICB, the difference between those vehicles that
are frequently stolen with those that are often looked-over by
would-be car thieves, is the electronic immobilizer system.
ICB-approved, immobilizers prevent a vehicle from starting unless a
specific electronic code is used. Many insurance companies will
give a discount on premiums if a vehcile has the immobilizer
installed.
Immobilizers are highly effective at deterring car
thieves,” said Rick Dubin, vice-president of
investigations with the ICB in a written statement.
“In terms of this year’s stats, you have to
go down the list to the 81st most frequently stolen spot to find a
vehicle, the 2001 Audi Quatro four-door, that registered thefts
despite the fact that it was protected by an immobilizer. It just
underlines the reality that theft is much more likely when a
vehicle is not equipped with an immobilizer.”
According to the ICB’s Top 10 list, vehicle thefts
cost Canadian policyholders more than $580 million annually in
insurance premiums.
As far as theft methods go, Lapalme said many people are still
using the tried-and-true slim jim - a thin piece ofmetal roughly 60
centimetres long and about two to four centimetres-wide used to
unlock car doors. It acts directly on the levers and
interconnecting rods that operate the door, completely avoiding the
complexity of dealing with the lock mechanism itself.Unskilled use
of the tool will often detach the lock rods, leaving the lock
inoperable even with the key. This is often a clue that someone has
attempted to break into a car while newer cars have also
incorporated internal defences against this tool such as barrier
blocks on the bottom of the window, preventing entry.
While it’s not as common in Sudbury as it was a couple of
years ago, Laplame said drilling through car doors under the
keyhole to access the lock is another popular way of breaking into
cars.
“Very few people will smash windows because it makes a lot of noise and will attract attention,” he said. “If the thief gets the impression that a vehicle will be easily identified, then I don’t think it becomes a major target because they don’t want to be identified.”
