Police have a new way to deter thieves and help protect vehicle owners.
B.C.’s Bait Car Program now includes ‘bait property.’
The Bait Car Program, run by the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT), is recognized as the largest of its kind in the world. Since it began operating in 2003, auto theft in B.C. is down 73 per cent.
“The IMPACT program has been wildly successfully over the last 10 years, with a 73 per cent reduction in auto theft since the introduction of bait cars. I am very proud of the dedicated team of officers and the work they do. I am confident that the bait property program will be equally as successful as our bait vehicle program,” said Shirley Bond, Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
This year if thieves do break into a bait vehicle and steal property, police will be tracking and monitoring that property, leading them straight to the thief.
“Thieves already know, that if they steal a bait car, they’ll go to jail,” says RCMP Inspector Gary Shinkaruk, of the integrated IMPACT team. “With the kind of evidence we’re able to put before judges, the program has been tremendously successful at putting car thieves behind bars. But there’s a new message we need to get out to thieves now – steal from a bait car, go to jail.”
The shift in focus from IMPACT comes as police analyzed statistics from 2012. In the last four months of the year, police across B.C. identified a slight increase in thefts from vehicles compared to previous years. Bait vehicles throughout B.C. have now been upgraded with the latest audio and video technology to address the issue of theft from vehicles. Bait property will look no different than any other property thieves may find in vehicles, and may range from tool boxes to a gym bag. The difference is it can be tracked and monitored by police.
The top 10 items stolen from vehicles are: smartphones, personal electronics, such as laptops, work tools, credit cards and ID, stereo equipment, cash and change, car parts, garage door openers, sunglasses and keys.
The top ten most often stolen vehicles in the Southern Interior region in 2011 are:
1. Ford F-Series pick ups
2. Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra
3. Honda Civic
4. Dodge Ram
5. Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee
6. Honda Accord
7. Ford Explorer, Dodge Caravan, Mazda pick ups
8. Dodge Neon, Toyota Camry
9. GMC Envoy/Jimmy
10. Ford Ranger, Nissan pick ups, Dodge Dakota, Volkswagen Jetta.
