Toronto's out-of-control car theft epidemic has once again caught the attention of international news publications, with a new BBC News report released on Wednesday analyzing the country's alarming crime statistics. 

The article, titled "How Canada became a car theft capital of the world," interviews multiple subjects in Ontario who had their vehicles stolen, including Milton resident Logan LaFreniere, who woke up in October 2022 to find that his Ram Rebel was missing from his driveway. 

According to the report, LaFreniere reviewed his home's security camera footage and discovered that two hooded men broke into his vehicle and drove it away with ease. 

Just a few months later, his truck appeared on a website listing vehicles for sale in Ghana. LaFreniere was able to identify his truck thanks to the laptop holder he installed for his son, which was filled with the garbage he had put there. 

Ontario auto theft claims have jumped 524% and now surpass $1B https://t.co/JFHbc92NKC

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 16, 2024

Back in May, Interpol revealed that 1,500 vehicles stolen in Canada had been detected worldwide since the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) successfully integrated the Canadian Police Information Centre's (CPIC) stolen vehicle information with Interpol's database. 

Canada ranked among the top 10 countries in hits received via Interpol's database this year out of 137 countries connected worldwide.

As a result, the BBC report notes that some Canadian residents have taken matters into their own hands to prevent their vehicles from being stolen — including installing trackers, putting up signs to ward off thieves, and even hiring private neighbourhood security. 

Someone put this sign on their car window after Toronto thieves broke it 3 times https://t.co/26eBmd3vDC

— blogTO (@blogTO) March 4, 2024

Nauman Khan, a Mississauga resident also interviewed in the report, started a bollard-installation business after he and his brothers were both victims of car thefts. 

Elliott Silverstein, director of government relations at the Canadian Automobile Association, told the news publication that the way Canada's ports operate makes them more susceptible to car thefts, which have only increased thanks to a global car shortage that has heightened international demand.

Back in October 2023, Toronto Police Services (TPS) revealed that an 11-month investigation into car thefts in the city had led to the recovery of 1,080 vehicles and 553 charges laid against 228 people. The combined value of the recovered vehicles is approximately $60 million. 

Chief Myron Demkiw said the project represented just one of the many strategic and intelligence-led initiatives Toronto police have undertaken to tackle rising auto theft incidents in the city and across the GTA. 

According to the Toronto Police Service Public Safety Data Portal, there were 12,262 auto theft incidents in Toronto in 2023, and 9,835 the year prior. For comparison, there were only 3,285 auto theft incidents in 2015. 

Toronto's crime problem is so bad that the New York Times is writing about it https://t.co/wdN8dJrQqG

— blogTO (@blogTO) February 26, 2024

This isn't the first time Toronto's alarming car theft statistics have caught the attention of international news publications. In February, The New York Times published a report titled "For Car Thieves, Toronto Is a 'Candy Store,' and Drivers Are Fed Up."

In response to these concerning trends, the Ontario government has invested more than $250 million through the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy (GGVRS) to fight gun and gang crime, including auto theft.