FREDERIC SERRE
The 1510 West
Of all the West Island municipalities, it is in Pointe Claire and Dorval that car owners stand a greater chance of seeing their vehicles stolen, according to statistics released by the Montreal Police Department that show that car thefts skyrocketed in these two municipalities between 2022 and the first six months of 2023.
Indeed, the numbers for the period between January and September 2023 paint a disturbing picture for car owners living in the district served by Station 5, which saw a whopping 126-per-cent increase in reported car thefts in the first three months of 2023 alone, compared with the period in 2022, while there was a 120-per-cent jump between April and June 2023, compared to the previous year.
During the first six months of 2023, a total of 654 vehicles were reported stolen in Pointe Claire and Dorval. In all of 2022, there were 545 vehicles stolen on that territory.
The statistics for vehicle thefts in the West Island compiled by the Montreal police service come in the wake of the national summit on combatting car theft hosted by the federal government last week in Ottawa. The summit drew representatives from government, municipalities and law enforcement agencies. According to law enforcement consultant and former Canadian Police Association CEO Scott Newark, auto theft in Canada is out of control.
“There are several other developments, but given the priority these issues have finally received, I think car theft is an issue we should discuss because it’s not going away and it’s highly relevant to all Canadians,” he told The 1510 West, adding that auto theft spills into other areas, such as drug and weapons smuggling and organized crime.
“I’ve had involvement in auto theft and marine port export smuggling matters repeatedly since the late ’90s, when the Chrétien government inexplicably privatized Canada’s port authorities, abolished the Canada Ports Police and then allowed the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) full docking privileges and control of their facilities at the Port of Vancouver, which resulted in a huge increase in illegal importation of drugs, guns and people.”
Meanwhile, in police District 1, which covers Baie d’Urfé, Beaconsfield, Kirkland, Ste. Anne de Bellevue and Senneville, car thefts increased by 95 per cent during the first three months of 2023, compared with the same period in 2022.
Île Bizard, Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Ste. Geneviève saw a 74-per-cent increase in auto thefts between April and June of 2023 and a 14-per-cent decrease between July and September. Car thefts in Dollard des Ormeaux increased by 46.4 per cent during the first six months of 2023.