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Automobile theft - Overview
How is a vehicle stolen?
As a general rule, when a vehicle is stolen by an organized theft ring, the theft occurs as follows:
- In most cases, the thief receives an order from a theft ring for a particular model. The thief identifies a vehicle, often in a parking lot (shopping malls, airports, etc.).
- For an experienced thief, the theft will take between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, depending on whether the vehicle is equipped with a protection system or not.
What happens to a vehicle once it is stolen?
A vehicle stolen by an organized theft ring faces three fates: it may be dismantled for parts, exported or cloned/made over.
Dismantling a vehicle for parts
Vehicles are dismantled to supply the illegal recycled parts market. The stolen vehicle is taken to an illicit workshop or "chop shop" where it is completely or partially stripped. The parts are then sold on the illegal recycled parts market, both in Québec and abroad.
The illicit recycled parts market operates like any other economic market, that is, on the basis of supply and demand. Generally speaking, the vehicles most likely to be stolen for this purpose are the best selling models since the demand for recycled parts for this type of vehicle increases with its popularity.
Export
In certain parts of the world, the demand for stolen top-of-the-line vehicles from North America is constantly growing.
Both Québec and Ontario are strategic locations with respect to the illicit export of stolen vehicles. Montréal and Toronto are both located near the American border and large shipping routes, which makes it easier for theft rings involved in exporting vehicles.
According to the Investigative Services Division of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), most stolen vehicles are exported to Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, South America, Africa, the Caribbean and south-east Asia where they are sold for very high profits. For example, a Jeep Grand Cherokee can net a theft ring profits of $97,000.
The vehicles that are likely to be stolen for this reason are luxury vehicles and late model sports utility vehicles.
Makeovers and cloning
A car theft ring will obtain a severely damaged vehicle (SDV) on the legal market and then steal another vehicle with similar characteristics. The thieves then transfer the vehicle identification number from the SDV to the stolen vehicle, switching identities. This operation is referred to as "making over" the stolen vehicle.
"Cloning" is a little different from making over a vehicle. A VIN is taken from a parked vehicle. The thieves use this information on an identical vehicle, which has been stolen, and register the cloned vehicle in a different province.
In both cases, the vehicles are sold to purchasers acting in good faith. As in the case of export, cloning and vehicle makeovers are a source of major profits for theft rings. In the case of a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee, the theft ring may make profits of up to $40,000.
Any type of vehicle may be stolen in order to be made over or cloned. However, the thieves generally prefer newer models since their resale value is higher.
Consequences of automobile theft
How does automobile theft affect insurance holders in Québec?
First, the Québec insurance holder is affected as a citizen. The costs of automobile theft are high in both Canada and Québec. In 2000, the IBC commissioned a study of the social costs of automobile theft in Canada, which totalled $851.7 million in 1998. These costs include the claims paid by insurers ($600 million), healthcare ($129 million), costs to the legal system ($85 million) and policing costs ($37 million). On its own, Québec assumes 48.8% of the total Canadian costs, with social costs estimated at $415.6 million (Standard & Poor's).
Moreover, automobile theft is an integral part of organized crime in the same manner as drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in firearms and prostitution. According to Statistics Canada, 60% of criminal organizations in Canada are involved in automobile theft.
Young people are a choice target for these organizations, which use them to commit these crimes. According to Québec's Ministère de la Sécurité publique (MSP), 33.5% of the individuals accused of automobile theft in 2005 were 17 years old or younger.
Québecers are also affected by automobile theft as consumers, in the case of automobile insurance premiums. In 2006, the insurers paid $300 million in claims for stolen vehicles in Québec alone. The insurers must pay 10% of the automobile insurance premiums paid by their clients, whether they have been the victims of automobile theft or not, to cover the claims paid for stolen vehicles. Thus, if the premium paid by an insurance holder is $1,000, $100 of that amount will be used to cover the claims paid for automobile theft.
Auto theft in figures
- 31,091 vehicles were stolen in Québec in 2008.
- In Québec, in 2008, insurers paid more than approximately $230 million in automobile theft claims.
- In the entire country in 2008, for the 1996 to 2008 models, the most frequently stolen vehicles were:
- 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
- 2003 Cadillac Escalade ESV 4-door AWD
- 1999 Honda Civic SiR 2-door
- 2006 Chevrolet/GMC Trailblazer SS 4-door 4WD
- 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT 4-door AWD
- 2005 Cadillac Escalade ESV 4-door AWD
- 1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder 2-door
- 2000 Audi S4 Quattro 4-door
- 2006 Hummer H2 4-door AWD
- 2005 Cadillac Escalade 4-door 4WD