Article content
A Good Samaritan is one of Toronto’s latest victims of car theft.
The incident occurred on April 12 in the west-end of the city. According to statement to National Post from Toronto police, a “citizen stopped his vehicle to assist someone suffering a medical issue. As he was assisting this person, someone (stole) the man’s vehicle.”
Article content
It’s one of the latest incidents in Toronto’s on-going car theft crisis.
Last month, Toronto’s police chief Myron Demkiw said that more than 12,000 vehicles were stolen in Toronto last year, a figure that equates to a car theft every 40 minutes.
The value of the stolen vehicles is estimated to be in the range of $800 million.
This year, the problem has only grown worse. According to Demkiw, there had been 68 carjackings so far in 2024, a 106 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
“This is not just a law enforcement problem,” Demkiw told a board meeting last month, per The Canadian Press.
“It is time to be bold and collaborative with all levels of government, along with vehicle manufacturers, port authorities and shipping companies … We need manufacturers to better protect vehicles from being stolen and co-operate with investigators to track stolen vehicles so we can catch offenders quickly and return vehicles to their owners.”
In January, the federal government announced $121 million in funding over five years for police in Ontario to tackle the auto theft crisis, along with gun and gang violence.
Article content
That funding is in addition to $51 million the Ontario government committed to the issue last May. Allocated over a three-year period, the money is aimed at assisting police in identifying and dismantling the criminal networks behind auto theft rings.
In the meantime, some car theft victims have taken their own measures, including tracking their vehicles to personally recover them and installing bollards in their driveways to protect against theft.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.
Share this article in your social network
