Looking for solutions
Rental agencies struggle with screenings as security concerns rise
Monday’s deadly rental van rampage in Toronto shows how quickly a vehicle can be turned into a weapon, but rental agencies are finding few clear options to prevent their property from involvement in such violent acts.
The urgency to find solutions is increasing, however.
The attack in Toronto that left at least 10 people dead and several injured is only the latest of a spate of vehicle attacks - including one in Edmonton last September - that have security experts grappling with solutions.
Efforts are further along in Europe, which has seen a rash of vehicle attacks across the continent. In the U.K., vehicle rental companies were asked to conduct tougher background checks following two separate van attacks in London last June.
But rental agencies are still limited in how well they can screen customers, said Toby Poston, director of communications at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association.
“Members aren’t experts at profiling customers,” said Poston.
“People don’t come into rental branches wearing camo gear and stab vests and with that sort of glint in their eye. Quite often, these people just present themselves like any normal person.”
The British association is, however, looking to better coordinate with law and security officials to make it easier to share data. Poston said rental agencies wouldn’t have access to terror watchlists or the like, but could potentially feed information to authorities for better monitoring. Member companies are also looking to potentially institute other record searches like credit and criminal background checks, but even then there is no clear way to determine that a vehicle shouldn’t be rented, said Poston.
“You have to remember that a criminal record is not always reason enough to not rent someone a vehicle. And you have to be careful from a discrimination point of view.”
The accused in the Toronto van attack, Alek Minassian, did not even raise any red flags during a brief stint in the Canadian Armed Forces last year, a military source told The Canadian Press.
Toronto police said he rented the van from a Ryder rental location north of the city. The company said Tuesday it was fully co-operating with authorities, but declined to comment on its current security policies.
The Associated Canadian Car Rental Operators said government officials have yet to reach out to try to co-ordinate data sharing. But any such efforts would be complicated, said vice president of government relations Craig Hirota.
“It’s challenging, how do you use that information so that it doesn’t infringe on existing rights of the individual and rights to privacy?”
The RCMP’s National Critical Infrastructure Team has been in contact with industry and sends out relevant information, Hirota added.
“We are in the loop with local and federal law enforcement when there are bulletins.”
He said the rental industry has long been concerned with fraudulent and criminal activity with rentals, but there are limited options for screenings.
“Vehicle rental agencies have been concerned with people doing bad things with rental cars since the inception of the industry. Obviously if there was a way to tell a renter was going to do something prohibited with your vehicle, we’d love to have that.”