Car theft is a concern in Canada, and more and more drivers are installing simple tracking devices like Apple's AirTag to monitor their vehicles. But while these devices are less accurate, more specialised vehicle theft tracking systems are more useful, and they fill the gap in finding the exact location of stolen vehicles.
Trucks pulling containers out of the Port of Montreal on 19 September 2023 More than 1.7 million containers entered and left the port that year, also making it difficult for law enforcement to locate stolen vehicles. (Christinne Muschi/Canadian Press)
The vast majority of stolen cars in Canada are shipped out of Canada through the Port of Montreal for sale in foreign countries, and it's very difficult to rely on AirTag to find the exact location of stolen vehicles among the thousands of containers. More than 1.7 million containers entered and left the port last year.
Port of Montreal partners with tracking company
The Port of Montreal is currently working with Montreal-based business Tag Tracking to try to narrow down the search for stolen vehicles and stop the cars from being shipped overseas.
According to Global News, Tag Tracking installs five to seven small devices in hidden locations on vehicles to prevent them from being removed by car thieves, and it also installs receivers throughout the Port of Montreal to ‘locate suspicious containers more accurately and quickly.’
The company has been in business for nearly 15 years and has recovered more than $150 million worth of stolen cars.
Some of the strategies used by some Quebec insurers to reduce vehicle theft claims are to require or encourage vehicle owners to use Tag Tracking's vehicle tracking service.
The Équité Association says that tracking companies like Tag Tracking play a role in preventing theft. According to the association, car-finding efforts have been so effective that criminals have turned their attention to places like Ontario, where vehicles with tracking systems are not yet as common.
From mid-December last year to the end of March this year, police checked about 400 containers at the Port of Montreal and found nearly 600 stolen vehicles, most of them from the Toronto area.
Ontario may follow Quebec's lead
Last year, a car was stolen every 40 minutes in Toronto, which represents 12,000 vehicles stolen with a total value of nearly $800 million, according to the Toronto police chief.
Tag Tracking says that in order to avoid higher premiums, some Ontario insurers are following Quebec's lead and requiring or encouraging car owners to install vehicle tracking systems.
It still seems a step too late to rely on tracking systems to find stolen vehicles when they arrive at the Port of Montreal. The Canada Border Services Agency wants vehicles that are stolen to be found right at the local freight depot or station in Toronto or other cities, rather than waiting until they are shipped to the Port of Montreal to look for them.
That's why the CBSA has developed a new programme called the Location Request Protocol, which was officially launched in June.
The closer law enforcement can act, the sooner stolen cars can be recovered. However, the Équité Association says that car manufacturers should also find ways to protect car owners - after all, the harder a car is to steal, the less likely it is to be stolen.
https://www.cnss.com.cn/html/gkdt/20240819/354367.html
|
Back:
Next:
