If your vehicle went missing in October, you’re not alone.
South Simcoe Police Service Deputy Chief Sheryl Sutton presented the operational update for that month during the police services board meeting at the Innisfil Town Hall on Nov. 27, showing 18 auto thefts last month compared to just seven in the same time last year.
While Sutton said there might be “no rhyme nor reason” for that particular timing, she explained there’s a general trend in organized crime for groups of auto thieves to carpool north from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), making stops in multiple towns along the way.
“It’s organized groups being dropped off here and they’re taking as much as they can,” she said. “It’s usually in a small period of time.”
While October was hit particularly hard, auto thefts have been trending upwards this year, with 123 by the end of last month, compared 104 by the same time last year.
As a result of the hard work of officers on the Barrie Police-South Simcoe Police Street Crime Auto Theft Unit, Sutton said police understand the scope of problem is “huge” and expands beyond just Barrie and South Simcoe into York and Halton regions as well.
According to insurance crime watchdog Équité Association, 28,550 vehicles were stolen in Canada in the first half of 2024, including 12,949 in Ontario, but the good news is those represent year-over-year decreases of 17 and 14 per cent, respectively.
Common targets locally include Dodge Ram pickups, Toyota Highlander and Lexus SUVs as well as other large, expensive vehicles.
To help avoid being the victim of thieves, Sutton recommends residents keep their vehicles locked at all times, keep keys away from the front door, park inside the garage if you can, and leave exterior lights on at night.
A full list of tips can be found on the South Simcoe website.
Sutton also emphasized that it’s good to have security cameras, and those that do have the option to register them with the police online for free.
That way, if police are investigating an incident in the area, they may reach out to ask if the camera captured any relevant footage.
Meanwhile, the number of thefts from vehicles actually decreased to 12 in October compared to 16 the same month last year. This is also part of an ongoing trend with 89 thefts as of the end of last month, compared to 103 during the same time last year.
Beyond just vehicle-related thefts, the report showed 2,675 total calls for service in October 2024, about a 5.5-per-cent increase from the 2,535 calls in October 2023.
As usual, the calls were split about 50/50 between Bradford and Innisfil, but Sutton noted that 47 came through the service's new online reporting tool.
Break and enters decreased by almost half in October to 10 from 18 in October last year, and in the same time frauds decreased to 19 from 30.
On the other hand, impaired incidents increased to 29 from 19, and mental-health calls increased to 33 from 22.
By the end of October, police responded to 26,030 calls for service, just slightly more than the 25,842 made in the same last year.
At this rate, Sutton said 2024 is on track to outpace the total number of calls in 2023, which set a record for the service at 29,875.
