(HURON COUNTY, ON) - It might sound like a broken record but Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is once again reminding everyone to lock up their vehicles and secure the ignition key.
A year-to-date glance at the stolen vehicle statistics for Huron County OPP reveals 16 vehicles have been stolen in 2020. This is a 33% percent increase compared to the 12 vehicles that were stolen in 2019 at this time. Furthermore, out of the 16 vehicles stolen this year, 88% of them had the keys left in the vehicle and were left insecure. Despite previous warnings and a recent county-wide "Lock-it-or-Lose-it" campaign too many vehicle owners are failing to take simple steps to secure their vehicles.
Half of the stolen vehicles taken have been pickup trucks. Eight pickup trucks, two cross-overs, one mini-van, one jeep, three tractors and one snowmobile have been stolen.
"Crime prevention is everyone's business. Please help us combat vehicle theft in our county by simply locking up your vehicle and removing the ignition key. It is much easier to prevent this crime than it is to investigate, arrest and convict these criminals after-the-fact. Vehicle theft is a crime of opportunity, let's do whatever we can to take this opportunity away."
- Huron County OPP Sergeant Russ Nesbitt
Quite often these thieves will use the stolen vehicles to commit further criminal offences such as break and enters and thefts. Additionally, the drivers will engage in dangerous driving acts on the roadway and will also fail to stop for police if attempts are made to stop them.
What can be done about this? Quite simply it comes down to vehicle owners taking some basic steps to secure their vehicle and to always remove the ignition key from their vehicle. In addition, don't leave valuables in your vehicle or personal documents such as vehicle ownership, liability pink slips, credit card invoices or other documents containing personal information in their vehicles. Identity thieves are looking for such documents so they can assume identities, secure credit card accounts, lease vehicles for export, and even take out a mortgage against victims' properties without their knowledge.
Please see the infographic below from the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) for tips on how to protect your vehicle and its contents.