‘Make that vehicle harder to steal’
AUTO THEFT CRISIS Experts suggest taking a layered approach to protecting your vehicle from potential thieves
There was outrage and confusion when a Toronto police officer suggested that motorists leave their keys in plain view where they live, in case a thief breaks into their home.
The comments were followed last week by Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw’s announcement that break-and-enters for the purpose of car theft have already topped the total for all of 2023.
Despite the backlash to Const. Marco Ricciardi’s comments at an Etobicoke town hall, many with direct experience of Toronto’s auto theft crisis say they understand the logic behind the officer’s advice — not that it’s the only step you should take in a layered approach to preventing thefts.
It’s important not to give armed thieves a reason to want to search your home, Ricciardi told the gathering last month. Someone out looking to steal a car will often “have guns on them and they’re not toy guns. They’re real guns. They’re loaded,” he said.
A car theft victim, a former thief and a former police investigator all told the Star that this line of thinking makes sense.
“It’s not a bad idea,” said the former thief. “I’ve been there. I’ve done it. I’ve gone into people’s houses.”
If the keys are near the door, a thief is “going to grab your keys and they’re going to leave” — and that outcome is far better than the alternative of a potentially violent search through your home, he said.
The car theft victim agrees. Two men in hoodies broke into his home in Leaside in the fall to steal the key fob for his Porsche roadster.
He said he now reasons that if the thieves are already in his house, he just wants them to take the keys and leave as quickly as possible.
“That’s not ideal, but what’s the alternative?” he said. “You don’t want to go nose-to-nose with them in the middle of the night.”
The Star is not naming the resident over his worries he’ll be targeted again by thieves.
The Star is not naming the former auto thief as he is a co-operating witness in organized crime cases.
After Ricciardi’s comments surfaced, many Toronto residents expressed frustration that the advice appeared to show Toronto police settling upon making thieves’ lives easier rather than doing more to halt an escalating auto theft crisis. (Police have since emphasized the investigative steps they are taking to crack down on thefts and have clarified that while Ricciardi’s comments were “well-meaning,” residents can do other things to help prevent thefts.)
On Monday, Demkiw warned of an “escalation of violence, threats and intimidation where weapons are being used to steal vehicles.”
More than 12,000 vehicles were stolen across Toronto last year, which amounts to one every 40 minutes; in addition to the breakand-enters, carjackings are on pace to more than double in 2024, he said.
Police have since posted several tips for car owners, including using steering wheel locks, GPS tracking devices and a Faraday pouch to store your keys inside your house. (A Faraday pouch blocks radio signals given off by your key fobs so that they can’t be duplicated from outside the home.)
Police also suggest getting an ignition kill switch installed, which blocks a thief from starting the vehicle. This can also lead to insurance discounts if the switches are professionally installed.
Insurance industry experts agree that taking a layered approach to protecting your vehicle — and your personal safety — is best.
That includes measures like steering wheel locks, cameras and tracking devices, said Bryan Gast, a former OPP officer who’s now vicepresident of investigative services of Équité Association, an insurance crime analytics organization.
“Make that vehicle harder to steal,” he said.
And that layered approach can include keeping your keys near your entrance in a Faraday bag, he said.
The thief continued to say that he was often armed and on crack cocaine when he broke into houses; he warned things can go horribly wrong when thieves are confronted.
The difference between a robbery and a murder is often a one-second lapse of judgment, he reasons. If a thief stumbles onto your sevenyear-old daughter’s bedroom looking for your car keys, the former thief said. “Now your daughter has seen his face.”
Even short of such a worst-case scenario, the former thief noted that someone breaking into a house is also apt to steal whatever catches his eye as he looks for the key fob.