Garth Rattray | Auto thefts can be significantly reduced

I was intrigued by the piece in The Sunday Gleaner of November 10 “Gone in five days”. It was about the five-day old purchase of a 2025 RAV4 by a physician as a gift for his pregnant wife.

The doctor planned to install additional security features, although the unit already came with some. That model RAV4 is not considered high risk for theft, but, obviously, someone wanted parts to sell, so the vehicle was stolen.

Car thieves will trail you, stalk you, intercept you, and possibly brutally kill you if they want your vehicle … likely only for the parts. Sometimes, if thwarted, they might set vehicles on fire. I know of a family that was held at gunpoint while the dastardly thieves telephoned their techie accomplice to remove the tracker system from the vehicle that they were stealing. I know of someone who had an anti-theft system installed, nonetheless, she woke one morning to find her vehicle missing and the anti-theft system left in the empty parking space as a taunting and insulting “try yuh bess” message.

Someone that I know bought a vehicle that was also unpopular among thieves. The first time that she drove her spanking new, fully equipped, and heavily secured (immobiliser, tracker and all) vehicle home, persons unknown, unseen, and unheard simply disabled everything, gained electronic access to the vehicle and quietly drove it away. It was never recovered.

Someone who safeguarded his vehicle with a very popular and reputable company, lost it to theft. Somehow, someone gained access to the security provider’s platform and deleted the vehicle. So there was no trace of it ever being in the system although the client was paid up and duly registered by the company. Perhaps the system was hacked, or it was an inside job.

NEVER GO TO BUYER

I know of two people who went to a potential buyer for the vehicle, and although the gentleman was a licensed firearm holder, that vehicle and neither of them was ever seen again. The moral of that story is, never go to any buyer, let them come to you. And if you really want to be safe, put the vehicle in a used car dealer lot.

Vehicle theft causes several problems for owners. Not only are they and their family in constant danger from lurking criminals, not only is it very expensive to try to secure a vehicle, but the increase insurance in premiums is prohibitive. In some cases, the premium for the Toyota Mark X (listed in the article as a popular car among thieves) has gone up by more than 300 per cent! Having to spend many extra hundreds of thousands of dollars on a vehicle annually because of criminals, is simply terrible.

Reducing the risk of vehicle theft by being careful where you park, using Faraday pouches for keyless entry vehicles, installing high-tech devices with tracking capabilities, putting in kill switches, having vehicles recovered by the police or private security companies, and sleuthing are rapidly becoming commonplace.

I have always wondered if it is a case that the people who install the security devices could be the same people who steal the vehicles. However, I have never heard of the installing companies and/or auto-dealers being thoroughly investigated.

Additionally, the real cause of vehicle thefts is not being addressed. Therefore, the thefts, inherent danger, and expenses incurred because of owning a vehicle will continue to escalate. We must go to the root of it all.

REGISTERED AND LICENSED

There are innumerable backyard, open lot, and sidewalk so-called auto mechanics. They must be registered, regulated and licensed. No one is trying to slap bread out of their mouths, or prevent them from ‘eating a food’, but they must be regulated. Unregulated mechanics are causing havoc, while they [terribly] inconvenience and endanger decent, taxpaying citizens.

These mechanics obstruct sidewalks, obstruct driveways, litter communities, attract noisy and unsavoury characters, and are often the ones who acquire stolen parts to sell to their customers. Requiring that they be registered and licensed will force them to adhere to the regulations that govern operating garages. Not on the sidewalk, not in the streets, not in just any backyard, and not in areas that are not zoned for such activities.

For registration and licensing, they will need to provide proper identification and a fixed address, reference(s), and a government, or statutory body assessment of their capabilities to determine the type of licence that they are issued. They must display their [annual] licensing certificate and submit to occasional and unscheduled inspection of their premises several times every year to ensure compliance.

Additionally, they must keep a record of all purchase and sale transactions. The seller must provide a current ID, address, and source of the product. The same applies to items sold to anyone by that mechanic. Breaches must be actionable by the court system.

It is not difficult to implement these measures. However, I foresee corruption by government officials tasked with monitoring the system, and political interference when certain powerful people tell their underlings to leave so and so alone … in the expectation that the favour will be repaid at the polls.

It is up to the citizens to pressure the government into doing something definitive instead of simply documenting figures and chasing down criminals and the vehicles that they steal.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com