Interpol Data Reveals Canada as Epicenter for Car Thefts, Say Experts

As government, police, and other stakeholders strive to address Canada’s auto theft crisis, a May report from Interpol places the country among the top 10 for hits received in its stolen motor vehicle database this year, with some experts dubbing it “ground zero.”

This ranking comes just three months after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) integrated the Canadian Police Information Centre’s stolen vehicle database with Interpol’s. Prior to this integration, database entries were submitted manually.

Since the integration, over 1,500 stolen vehicles from Canada have been detected globally within three months. The RCMP’s database now contains information on about 150,000 stolen vehicles in Canada, and since February, more than 200 vehicles have been identified weekly as law enforcement checks their information, typically at ports of entry.

“We’ve been calling this a national auto theft crisis for over a year now,” Liam McGuinty, vice-president of strategy at the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), told Global News.

In 2022 alone, more than 105,000 vehicles were stolen across Canada, according to the IBC.

These thefts have significant financial impacts. IBC released a list of the costliest cities for auto theft in 2023, with Toronto leading Ontario with a 561 percent increase over the past five years, resulting in about $371 million in claims.

McGuinty noted that auto theft claims amounted to $1.5 billion nationally last year.

The increase in thefts resulted from a “perfect storm” of COVID-19 pandemic-related supply chain issues and problems with vehicle availability and costs.

Interpol stated in May that stolen vehicles have become an “international criminal currency” and a significant revenue stream for organized crime. However, global data sharing now allows for better screening of vehicles at border points, identification of trafficking routes, and arrests of those involved.

Although the CPIC database was accessible to foreign law enforcement, integration with Interpol was necessary due to a lack of awareness.

A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc emphasized that addressing auto theft requires collaboration among insurance companies, manufacturers, law enforcement, and other stakeholders, with each partner playing a role in prevention and recovery.