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CRIME VARIETY OF METHODS USED TO STEAL VEHICLES Continued from page 1 thefts. BMW vehicles were the next most popular at 13 per cent, followed by Land Ro- ver (Range Rovers) at 12 per cent, Ford vehicles (F-150 trucks) with eight per cent and Mercedes-Benz with seven per cent. Wright said these vehi- cles all feature push-button to start, which makes them vulnerable to the technolo- gy-based methods thieves have developed to steal them. One method, dubbed a relay theft, involves two thieves. "One will approach the font of your house with a signal relay device. The sec- ond thief will be by your ve- hicle and they will access the handle. This will se: signal from your vehicle, through the signal relay de- vice and it will search for the key fob inside your house,” said Wright. "Once it finds it, it will relay the signal back out thro iy device and then to “another device the thief has and that will reprogram a key that they have in their possession. This is a very quick theft, and it can take place in sec- onds." Wright said this type of theft can be defeated by put- ting your key fob ina signal blocking Faraday Bag; how- ever, this type of theft is de- clining in popularit A second more widely used method involves the bore using a screwdriver to t inside the vehicle, at which point they use a de- ice to plug into the vehi- tle’s on-board diagnostic reader and reprogram a key they have in their pos- session. Wright said this method takes longer, about 15 min- Share Your #HCDSBSitFrancis5O Memories Visit us online: elem.hcdsb.org/stfrancis “We have a layer of thieves, a layer of shippers and we have a higher layer of individuals who are involved in actually }: exporting them overseas.” utes, but the thief doesn't need to access the key fob le the house, so it ren- ders Faraday Bags ineffec- ive. After being _ stolen, Wright said, the vehicles are typically shipped to overseas locations where a lack of supply, specifically of mid-size SUVs and pick- up trucks, makes these sto- len vehicles attractive. havea layer of thieves, a lay- er of shippers and we havea higher layer of individuals who are involved in actual- ~ Det. Ron Wright ly exporting them overseas or re-VINing them and re- selling them to other crimi- nal elements." Carolyn McMinn of the Trafalgar Chartwell Resi- dents’ Association said her husband's Jeep Grand Cherokee was stolen from their driveway in 2020. She was told at the time that her vehicle was one of 17 taken across Oakville that night. “There's real disbelief. It no, surely someone hasn't stolen our car. We live in this lovely little corner of Oakville." After McMinn reported the vehicle stolen, she said police were up front with her, noting her vehicle was probably in a shipping con- tainer at the Port of Montre- al and she would never see it again. McMinn said she parks her vehicle in her garage now had police pro- vide ‘nformation about au- to theft prevention for her residents’ association's newsletter. Wright said parking a ve- hicle in a garage is the best way to keep it safe, since au- to theft groups have spot- ters who drive up and down residential streets looking for certain types of vehi- cles. Other preventive tips in- clude getting a steering wheel lock or installing an aftermarket GPS on the ve- hicle so if it is stolen it can # tracked. a When asked by resident + z Arun Bhat what police are i doing to prevent future au- to thefts, Wright noted Hal- z ton police conduct investi- — gations into vehicle thefts 2 and partner with other po- lice agencies to combat: auto 8 2 theft groups. Halton police said of the ¢ H 867 auto thefts in Halton in 2021, a total of 204 of these & x cases were cleared. 8 Wright said police also conduct proactive patrols of areas that either have been or are likely to be targeted staying: -safe/ vehicle- theft- prevention-tips.aspx. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With a significant increase in vehicle thefts in Halton, we wanted to let residents know what makes are being targeted, how thieves are stealing them and what residents can do to keep their vehicles safe. ST. FRANCIS # ASSISI CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 50 YEARS IN CATHOLIC EDUCATION _ ee ANNIVERSARY