April is Auto Crime Enforcement Month

B.C., Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT)

2025-04-01 11:00 PDT

April is Auto Crime Enforcement Month in British Columbia.

The Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT) with its partners at the Government of British Columbia and ICBC champion this initiative to encourage people around the province to protect themselves and their vehicles from becoming victims of crimes of opportunity.

This year’s theme is RETHINK auto crime. Police want vehicle owners to not get complacent when it comes to their vehicles. The goal of this year’s theme is to empower vehicle owners and drivers with the knowledge needed to better protect themselves from auto crimes (both theft of auto and theft from auto).

The acronym RETHINK stands for:

R - Remove valuables
E - Eliminate opportunities for thieves
T - Track your car with GPS technology
H - Hide your key signal
I - Invest in anti-theft devices
N - Never idle unattended
K - Keep track of your keys

In 2024, BC had its lowest number of auto theft incidents across the province in almost a decade. Prior to 2015, provincial theft of automobile data wasn’t comprehensive so 2015 is the earliest statistic we have to compare to. In 2024 BC saw nearly a 7% decrease in auto thefts.

Auto crime has significant consequences for people in B.C., which is why it's crucial for motorists to take proactive steps to reduce their risk, said Garry Begg, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. It’s encouraging that auto theft rates are continuing to trend downwards in our Province. I want to thank the IMPACT team and ICBC for their ongoing efforts to raise awareness and promote strategies that help protect vehicle owners across British Columbia.

Thanks to the highly effective, strategic and targeted enforcement from IMPACT and our policing partners, since last year, we’ve seen thefts of and from vehicles decrease in BC, said Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, Lower Mainland District Officer. Typically, these are crimes of opportunity and I’m happy to say that we are not giving criminals those opportunities. We must continue to remain vigilant and keep our vehicles and belongings safe from thieves.

At ICBC, we’re proud to support IMPACT and assist in community prevention efforts to help reduce auto crime in B.C., said Alex Lee, ICBC Road Safety Program Manager. By treating your keys like cash, using anti-theft devices, parking in well-lit areas and removing all valuables from your vehicle, you seriously reduce your chance of falling victim to auto crime. ‘’

This year we also want to emphasize high-tech auto theft prevention. High-tech auto theft is when a suspect uses sophisticated technology to steal a vehicle, said Acting Inspector Eugene Lum of IMPACT. As we continue to see criminals develop more and more sophisticated methods of committing auto crime, we want to arm the public with the tools they need to curtail it.

IMPACT encourages all vehicle owners to prevent vehicle theft by doing the following:

• Physically check your vehicle to make sure it’s locked (even after locking with a fob);
• Install an additional, after-market anti-theft device, e.g. a steering wheel lock or secondary alarm or immobilizer;
• Hide an AirTag, Tile, or a GPS tracking device in your vehicle (helps police with recovery efforts if a vehicle is stolen);
• Install a locking On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port cover on your vehicles OBD port; and
• Keep your key fob in a Faraday bag when you are at home.
• As technology in vehicles advances, so do the methods used to steal vehicles. Drivers and vehicle owners should take every preventative step possible to avoid becoming a victim of auto crime.

More safety tips can be found here: http://www.baitcar.com/prevention.

For more information and to see a list of the Wanted Auto Crime Offenders in BC, please visit: www.baitcar.com/wanted.

Released by:

BC RCMP Communications
778-290-2929

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