That, he says, is about how long it took him to walk to the bank from his parking spot along Kipling Avenue and the Queensway, finish his errands and return to find his white 2021 Land Rover Range Rover. sports car. “Your mind is kind of blown, you know? Because you want to see your car there,” said Ari, who is also known as “Dino” in the community. “I feel really awful… I don’t feel safe anymore.” While he’s heard stories of increased car thefts in the city and been warned by others that Range Rovers seem to be specific targets for thieves, Ari says he didn’t think it would happen to him, let alone be so easy to pull off. Zeynel ‘Dino’ Ari had his rental car stolen on November 2nd. He says he reported the theft to Toronto police soon after, but has yet to hear back on the status of its recovery. He ran for councilor for Ward 3 Etobicoke-Lakeshore and says he ran on a platform of increased police safety and enforcement. (Submitted by Zeynel Ari) But according to the latest data from 2021, this is the opposite of what is happening. Ari’s car type rose to the sixth most stolen car in the province from 10th place the previous year, with a theft rate of 4.2%. And according to one expert, the latest evidence shows that thieves and organized crime groups are not only getting faster and better at stealing cars, they are also using upgraded technology such as key fobs and push buttons. and luxury models have, to their credit, made stories like Ari’s more common. “This is about the fifth year in a row that the number of thefts in Ontario has increased,” said Bryan Gast, vice-president of research services at the non-profit Équité Association, which investigates and analyzes insurance fraud and crime. “These vehicles are being used to benefit these organizations and there are significant profits that they are making.” An investigation by CBC Toronto last month found that car thefts were up nearly 45 per cent in the city compared to last year and were up 54 per cent in Peel Region as of August 31. they are up 209% from 2021 so far this year.
Is your car on the list? Here’s how you can better protect it
Gast says thieves can get into cars by jamming the lock signal sent by the fob, which can last less than 30 seconds, or by hand and plugging into the car’s diagnostic port to reprogram the fob and start The vehicle. That’s why it’s important to have multiple layers of protection to prevent thieves from targeting your vehicle in the first place, such as using a steering wheel or door diagnostic lock, parking your car in a garage or well-lit area, or using aftermarket tracking services or devices and flag any suspicious activity to law enforcement. “The more layers you have, the longer it will take them to beat,” Gast said. This year, the Équité Association published the number of recorded thefts for each vehicle on the list. In total, 5,745 vehicles were stolen from Ontario, accounting for more than half of the nearly 11,000 car thefts recorded by the association across the country.
What makes Toronto a target for thieves?
The province’s largest city continues to lead the country in the number of cars stolen each year, according to the association’s analysis, with Gast saying Toronto’s proximity to transshipment ports, along with the number of cars to choose from, making it a prime target for thieves. Gast says thieves often profit by exporting the cars or by exploiting supply chain problems around the world, renting the vehicles and then selling them to unsuspecting consumers. Recovery rates for stolen cars are “significantly lower” in Ontario and the GTA compared to Western Canada, Gast says, suggesting that most stolen cars are exported or thieves change the VIN. Ari says he hasn’t heard anything about his car’s condition, but hopes a better solution to the problem materializes. “We have to do more to secure our belongings, our cars, our family, you know, ourselves,” Ari said.
