Ontario's most stolen vehicles of 2023
CBC
How big of a target is your vehicle for theft? If it's a Range Rover, the chances are high — for every 14 in the province, one is stolen, according to a new report.
Équité Association, an organization that works to stop crime on behalf of the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry, has released a list of the top 10 most frequently stolen vehicles in the province last year.
Topping the list are the 2022 Land Rover Range Rover, the 2022 Land Rover Defender and the 2021 Cadillac Escalade Series.
Brian Gast, vice president of Équité's investigative services division, says criminals made just over $1 billion just off of cars stolen in Ontario,
"That's the money that is up for grabs for organized crime. That's what it's about," he told CBC Radio's Metro Morning in an interview. "It's being used to purchase guns, drugs, whatever the case may be. It's being used to further their criminal operations domestically and internationally. So it's a very big concern and it goes beyond financial."
According to Peel Regional Police, York Regional Police and Toronto Police Services traditional car thefts have decreased, but now more criminals are resorting to violence to steal vehicles.
In Toronto alone, home invasions related to car theft have gone up nearly 140 per cent and carjackings have increased by 18 per cent, based on year-to-date police data.
Det.-Sgt. Greg O'Connor with Peel Regional Police's auto theft unit says his team is seeing similar trends. "Unfortunately, carjackings and the home invasion numbers are rising. But, we've doubled the size of our unit in Peel region. We currently have 16 members in our auto theft unit, so we're seeing a large increase of the recoveries that are going through."
O'Connor and Gast recommend drivers install a tracker and an immobilizer on their vehicle and park in a garage if possible. "If you do come into an instance where somebody is making demands for your car or something along those lines, they build a car every day. They don't build people everyday," O'Connor said. "Just let that car go. It's not worth what could come down the road."
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