Chief focuses on reasons for surge in auto thefts

The number of missing rides in March increased 52 per cent compared to 2017

Regina police are focusing efforts on the underlying causes of vehicle theft to address a 52 per cent hike in the number of autos that went AWOL in March compared to the same month a year ago.

Vehicle thefts rose to 114 in 2018 from 75 in 2017. There were also 16 attempted auto thefts in 2018 — four more than in March 2017, according to a report released Wednesday by the Regina Board of Police Commissioners.

Police Chief Evan Bray said not only have the numbers gone up, but the motives driving the thefts have changed over the years, forcing police to try a different approach to combat the problem.

“Twenty years ago, we had a lot of cars being stolen and quite typically it was youth stealing cars and just joyriding around the city,” said Bray.

Now the people stealing cars almost always have ties to other crimes and it’s rare for police to recover a stolen vehicle and not find drugs or weapons inside, Bray said.

“Clearly catching the accused and holding them accountable isn’t the whole answer,” said Bray. “We need to dig into the root causes of this.”

He said drug addiction and gang involvement are large drivers of this type of crime and addressing why people are engaging in that type of high-risk activity is important.

“It really is a problem in our community, no question about it,” said Bray.

While it’s not a quick fix, focusing on gang exit strategies and utilizing the TRiP (Regina Intersectoral Partnership) team, which works with at-risk youth, and PACT (the Police and Crisis Team), which deal with mentalhealth and addiction problems, can “make a very sustainable difference in terms of crime,” said Bray.

According to data collected over the past three years by Regina police, Honda and Acura models between the model years of 1990 and 2005 are consistently within the top five stolen vehicles.

Provincially, the top three vehicle models most prone to theft between January 2017 and May 2018 were the Ford F-150 Supercrew 4WD, Ford F-350 Super Duty Crew Cab 4WD Diesel and the Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4WD, which were also the top three for 2016, according statistics provided by SGI.

To reduce the risk of having a vehicle stolen, the Regina Police Service urges motorists to use steering wheel immobilization devices like The Club and is reminding people not to leave keys in their vehicles, ensure they are locked at all times and not to leave valuables in plain view.

Additional tips from SGI to prevent auto theft include not leaving a vehicle running while unattended, removing the valet key from the owner’s manual, removing valuables from the vehicle, locking all doors and closing all windows.

Crime rates for March compared to the same month last year are trending high in several other categories and are proving to be a “constant challenge” for police, said Bray.

Total reports of crimes against the person — including homicide, attempted murder, sexual assaults, assaults, robbery, kidnapping/forcible confinement, criminal harassment/stalking — were up to 189 in 2018 from 82 in 2017.

Total crimes against property — including arson, breaking and entering, theft of a motor vehicle, attempted theft of a motor vehicle, theft over $5,000, theft under $5,000 and mischief — rose to 874 in 2018 from 788 in 2017.

Crimes trending down in March included theft over $5,000 and mischief.