Mississauga, March 1: Vehicle theft has become a widespread problem in Mississauga and Brampton over the last couple of weeks.
A total of 419 vehicles were stolen in Mississauga and Brampton region during the last month as compared to 298 vehicles during the same period in 2021.
According to Peel police’s crime data, a total of 395 vehicles were stolen over a recent period of 30 days i.e from Jan. 26 to Feb. 24. That means at an average 13 vehicles are stolen every day. Out the stolen vehicles, 209 were stolen from Mississauga, while the other 186 were reportedly stolen in Brampton. These vehicles include 91 trucks also.
So, a total of 750 vehicles have already been stolen in Peel Region so far. Just comparing this data with Toronto, these numbers seem very high as total 1010 vehicles have been so far stolen in Toronto region.
Cases of vehicle theft have been on the rise in Brampton & Mississauga for the last couple of years. In 2019, a total of 3062 vehicles were stolen, 3376 in 2020 and in 2021 some 4119 vehicles were stolen in Peel Region.
Cold weather may be one of the major reasons behind these thefts, as many residents leave their vehicles on idling and unattended as they warm them up and thieves get an opportunity to steal such vehicles.
Last month, more than 200 stolen vehicles worth over $11 million were recovered as part of an investigation into a “prolific auto-theft ring” as “Project High 5”, a six-month multi-jurisdictional investigation was launched after an increase in vehicles thefts within the Region of Peel and the Greater Toronto Area as a whole involving officers from several GTA police services, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canada Border Services Agency, Montreal police, Halifax police and ports of Montreal and Halifax.
The most targeted vehicles were Toyota Highlanders, Honda CRVs, Ford F150s, Range Rovers, and Lexus SUVs.
Twenty-four people were charged (including many Punjabis) during the investigation and a total of 321 charges were laid as 217 vehicles were recovered, valued at $11.1 million.
Keeping in view the increase in vehicle thefts, police has issued following tips to public to protect their vehicles from theft:
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- If possible, park vehicles in a locked garage
- Install GPS trackers in vehicles if possible
- Install steering wheel lock systems
- Store vehicle keys/fobs away from the exterior walls of your home
- Consider storing keys/fobs in Faraday boxes
- Ensure you always lock car doors and roll up your windows
- Ensure there is adequate lighting in driveways and entranceways
Any suspicious activity in the neighbourhood must be immediately reported to the police.
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