Although Canada experienced a decline in stolen vehicles in 2024, Alberta is facing a surge in thefts, particularly of newer, high-value vehicles targeted for export.
Despite a nearly 19 percent drop in stolen vehicle rates for private passenger vehicles in 2024 compared to the previous year, Canada continues to grapple with a concerning rise in car thefts. While the overall number of stolen vehicles decreased to over 57,000 last year from over 70,000 in 2023, according to the Équité Association, an insurance crime watchdog, Alberta has emerged as a hotbed for auto theft .
Thieves in the province appear to be shifting their focus from older, often stolen and abandoned, trucks to newer, high-value vehicles targeted for export. The Équité Association's report, which tracks thefts of household vehicles such as cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs but excludes commercial vehicle thefts, highlights a troubling trend in Alberta. The province now boasts the highest per capita vehicle theft rate in the country, and cases of thieves re-VINing (registering stolen vehicles with false VIN numbers) are surging. This practice significantly complicates vehicle recovery efforts, as re-VINed vehicles appear legitimate. Bryan Gast, vice president of investigative services at the Équité Association, states that re-VINed vehicles are increasingly being exported and utilized by organized crime groups. He explains that by registering false VIN numbers with provincial authorities, thieves effectively obtain free vehicles, as they drive around undetected. The report attributes the decline in Alberta's vehicle recovery rate from 87 percent and 85 percent in 2022 and 2023 respectively, to 77 percent in 2024, directly to this surge in re-VINing. Gast adds that law enforcement is observing a spike in the number of stolen Alberta vehicles being shipped out of eastern ports like the Port of Montreal. He points to the interconnected nature of organized crime groups, noting that they will shift their operations to different regions if law enforcement intensifies in one area
CANADA AUTO THEFT ALBERTA ORGANIZED CRIME EXPORT VIN REGISTRY LAW ENFORCEMENT
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