Three used vehicles parked at the Triole Auto Sales used car dealership in Somerset. General Manager Kasey Elayouti said these cars have been thoroughly screened to make sure they are not stolen vehicles. (Photo credit: Beatrice Britneff)
While incidents of vehicle theft decreased across most of Ottawa between 2012 and 2013, car theft increased significantly in the city’s core.
According to an analysis of data published by the Ottawa Police Service, auto theft increased 37 per cent in 2013 in Somerset — a ward that covers the neighbourhoods of Centretown, Chinatown, Little Italy, and downtown Ottawa.
Although Somerset wasn’t the ward that experienced the highest number of stolen cars in 2013, it placed third on the list of wards with the highest rate of stolen vehicles, behind Beacon Hill-Cyrville and Alta Vista.
(Analysis and heat map by Beatrice Britneff)
Numerous requests to interview Ottawa police about the spike in Somerset auto theft were ignored.
While unsure of a concrete reason why car theft in downtown Ottawa increased last year, Kasey Elayouti, a used car dealer, said he thinks there’s simply more opportunities to steal a car in a busy area of town than in suburban neighbourhoods.
“Downtown is more hectic… more people, more cars parked in the streets,” said Elayouti, who manages family-owned Triole Auto Sales, located on Bronson Avenue near Chinatown.
Ottawa police told the CBC three months ago that organized crime rings could be responsible for the theft of dozens of luxury cars in Ottawa this past year. Police also said at least two organized auto theft gangs are operating in the capital.
There are also thieves who act alone, according to Terry O’Keefe, director of communications for the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, an association that regulates registered car dealers across the province.
O’Keefe said stolen cars can end up in different places depending on who snatched them.
If organized crime is behind the theft, O’Keefe said there’s a good chance those cars will quickly end up in a “chop shop” — where vehicles are stripped for parts to be sold separately — or loaded into containers and shipped overseas to Eastern Europe or Africa.
O’Keefe said a lone thief usually steals car to get somewhere — commonly referred to as “joyriding” — or for quick cash, in which case he or she will try to sell the vehicle to a used car dealership or an unsuspecting buyer.
However, O’Keefe said it’s rare that a stolen vehicle makes it into registered car dealer’s lot. He said dealers conduct several background checks, which include matching the seller’s name to the vehicle’s registration certificate, searching for debts on the car, and running a vehicle history report to find out whether it was involved in an accident.
“There’s a lot of due diligence done by dealers,” O’Keefe said.
Although Elayouti said he hasn’t had a stolen car go through his lot, he said that an amazing bargain is also a good indicator of a stolen vehicle.
“If the deal is too good to be true, then red flags should go up,” he said.
But Elayouti said these screenings aren’t perfect and determined thieves can find room to get away with their crimes.
“Nothing is bullet-proof,” he said. “There’s always cracks here and there.”
While some thieves will take off with whatever car they can get, O’Keefe says some — particularly gangs — look for specific models.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada — a national association representing Canada’s private business, home and car insurers— publishes a list of the most popular stolen vehicles every year. According to their website, the top stolen cars of 2013 include specific Honda, Ford, Cadillac and Acura models.
Car theft also increased 15 per cent and 7 per cent in the Gloucester-South Nepean and Bay wards, respectively, in 2013. Ottawa’s other 20 wards either saw the number of auto theft incidents decrease or remain stable.
According to the Ottawa police’s annual crime statistics, 997 vehicles were reported stolen in 2013, down from 1249 the year before.