“Due to the reality that current Customs Inspection efforts focus mainly on imports – not exports – and with the help of the Internet, the “stolen for order” vehicle is not limited to port cities,” says Ron Bain, executive director, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. “A desired vehicle can be stolen anywhere and, with the assistance of conspirators, loaded into a container and shipped out of the country within a matter of days without much fear of detection.”
Scary statistics
According to Statistics Canada, a vehicle will be stolen before you finish reading this article. On average, 400 vehicles are stolen every day – some of them from dealerships. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), car theft costs Canadians about $1.2 billion a year in out-of pocket-costs including deductibles, added health care, court and legal costs.
Canada has the dubious honour of being ranked seventh in ‘most vehicles stolen per capita’, ahead of the United States, which ranks ninth, according to The Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems. Although auto theft has decreased over the past years, this trend probably will not continue.
Auto theft is based on basic supply and demand. Law enforcement officials across Canada suggest that the demand for stolen vehicles is growing, creating a shift in the curve so severe that thieves will invest in the added technologies required to combat advanced automotive security systems.
Why does this matter to you?
After all, auto theft is a property crime. Nobody gets “hurt”. If your customer suffers vehicle theft and recovery, you may even benefit with some body shop business or if the vehicle is never returned, you may even realize an additional sale. This thought pattern is not uncommon, but ultimately it is flawed. To quote a popular TV real-life drama series, Jacked Auto Theft Task Force, “It all starts with a stolen car”.
Make no mistake, auto theft is organized crime that will affect your not only your customers but quite possibly your dealership. According to the York Region Auto Theft Squad, car thieves target regions, urban areas and dealerships for specific vehicles to fill specific demands.
Thieves are out there right now – on or around your dealership – posing as potential customers to observe any theft-deterrent systems in place, to monitor the interaction of your staff for possible lapse in controls and to gauge the general security of your dealership. Bogus test drives allow thieves to observe key management along with the location, accessibility and security of your key locking system. There are even reports of thieves arranging a test drive, never to return. Service departments are another place of vulnerability in your dealership. Would- be thieves are bringing vehicles in for simple service such as oil changes to gain valuable information on your security.
What to do?
What preventative measures can you take to protect your inventory, staff and customers? The best defence is a great offence. Make sure your dealership maintains easily visible security measures in prominent high traffic areas, such as large posters that indicate you have taken security precautions. Security cameras should be visible and positioned to provide complete visual coverage. Your key lock and tracking system should be kept in a secure location, out of view. Actual retrieval of keys should never be witnessed by anyone who is not an employee of the dealership. Access should only be given to management and trusted staff members.
Naturally, employees need to be part of your security solution. Train them to understand that security is an issue and they play a key role. Sacrificing key security for convenience is never a good idea. Your staff must be made aware of the potential for auto theft and that good security takes vigilance. The reception area is a very busy place. While it may be convenient to stock vehicles from that area, having keys laying around and accessible is asking for trouble. Employees should be on alert for unrecognized people in private dealership areas. More importantly, they should be trained on how to deal with these situations in order to maintain a safe work environment.
Once your dealership is in order, give your customer some advice on how they can best reduce the chance of having their vehicle stolen. Law enforcement points out that the winter months are the peak season for auto theft, most often by removing idling vehicles right out of an owner’s driveway. It’s always a good idea to remind them that an idling vehicle not only results in pollution, but also a high theft probability.
Auto theft is big business. Consider the times in which we live. Demand is high. Supply is low. There’s lots of money to be made in auto theft and the bad guys are feeling the recession just like the rest of us. Recognizing the prevalence of auto theft, and taking a few simple security precautions, can protect your dealership and your customers.
David Toma is law enforcement liason at Roy Speed Ross, creators of globali.com, the leading automotive theft prevention and recovery network in Canada. He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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