Police form team to combat rise on auto theft

Edmonton police hope a revamped anti-theft unit will help put the brakes on the rising number of vehicles stolen in the city.

In 2017, the number of vehicles stolen in Edmonton rose for the fifth straight year. The increases came after a multi-year lull brought on by new federally mandated anti-theft devices.

Thieves have since adapted, Staff Sgt. Sid Kingma of the police service’s Tactical Response to Autotheft Prevention (TRAP) team told an Edmonton Police Commission meeting this week.

“I don’t know if we have a good reason as to why that’s happened, but obviously we’ve seen the uptick in the numbers and that’s why we needed a response,” he said.

TRAP, created in the 1990s, was relaunched in March 2017 to deal with a stubborn rise in stolen vehicles, Kingma said. Part of the goal is to cut the number of high-speed pursuits involving stolen vehicles.

Between March and December 2017, TRAP recovered 221 stolen vehicles, made 187 arrests and laid 931 charges.

In 2007, Transport Canada mandated that new cars, trucks and SUVs come equipped with anti-theft engine immobilizers, which prevent vehicles from being hot-wired. Reported vehicle thefts in Edmonton dropped in the following years, to 2,521 in 2012 from 6,031 in 2007.

Auto thefts have since resumed their upward trend. Last year, Edmonton recorded 4,452 vehicle thefts. Kingma said auto thieves are targeting vehicles left to warm up with the keys inside, which contributed to the increase.

Kingma said the unit is tracking around 400 “prolific” car thieves who use stolen vehicles in other crimes such as break and enters, robberies and home invasions. Thieves will sometimes even set stolen vehicles on fire in hopes of destroying evidence, he said.

“A stolen vehicle offers a layer of anonymity for criminals to commit those additional crimes,” he told the police commission. “By focusing on stolen vehicles … there should be a reduction in related crimes.”

Despite that, he said the courts need to wake up to the public safety threat posed by those behind the wheel of stolen vehicles, saying they have adopted a “catch and release” approach.

He cited a suspect arrested last November in a stolen car with a robbery kit containing bear spray, meth, and two shotguns. The suspect was released and rearrested twice in the span of two months in stolen vehicles.

“It’s a little bit disheartening,” he said. “We are working with our Crown prosecutors to mitigate some of that — and the educational piece about taking possession of stolen autos more seriously.”

A stolen vehicle offers a layer of anonymity for criminals to commit ... additional crimes.