Cracking Down on Auto Theft

With vehicle thefts and car jackings on the rise, the government is taking bold action against a serious and often violent crime where high-tech criminals operate in tightly organized networks.

That’s why Ontario is investing $51 million over three years to fight these crime organizations and put these criminals behind bars.

The new funding will help police identify and dismantle organized crime networks, strengthen the prosecution of auto thieves, and manage cases more effectively.

The investment will be delivered over three years and includes:

The creation of an Organized Crime Towing and Auto Theft Team led by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP):

  • Drawing upon the experience and success of the province’s towing joint force operation, the Organized Crime Towing and Auto Theft Team will work with police services to identify, disrupt and dismantle organized crime networks participating in vehicle theft.

A new community safety grant that targets auto theft:

  • Starting this year, OPP, municipal and First Nations police services will be eligible to apply for funding for extra tools, supports and resources to fight and prevent auto theft in their communities. Funding can be used for public education and awareness campaigns or technology to assist police with surveillance and identification of stolen vehicles.

Creation of a new Major Auto Theft Prosecution Response Team:

  • This team will provide dedicated legal and prosecutorial support to the OPP to prepare and prosecute complex cases, with corresponding court support staff and resources.

The Ontario government will also invest $1.4 million in funding for each of the next three years to the Greater Toronto Area-Greater Golden Horseshoe Investigative Fund to help stop the illegal export of stolen vehicles and purchase new cutting-edge technology.

Ontario will continue to target organized crime through a further $13.4 million investment this year in the Guns and Gangs Violence Reduction Strategy to support a guns and gangs OPP-led joint-forces operation to increase intelligence sharing and enforcement action across multiple jurisdictions.

Learn More: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1003005/ontario-cracking-down-on-auto-theft