Keeping your vehicle safe in Montreal parking lots considered ‘hot zones’ for carjackings
Posted December 23, 2024 11:12 am.
Last Updated December 23, 2024 11:16 am.
The Fairview shopping mall parking lot on Montreal’s West Island is one of the major hot spots for car theft on the island.
Data collected by Équité Association, the organization that helps insurers fight insurance crime, shows that SUVs, particularly Japanese-brand vehicles, are popular with thieves.
“Every time I come to Fairview, I’m very scared,” said Mariam Faisal.
“It’s really a concern,” added Susan Sulla. “My daughter had her car stolen, not in this lot, but in front of our house. And It’s a terrible feeling to worry about your car.”
From Jan. 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, Montreal police saw nearly 8,200 vehicles reported stolen, compared to almost 11,000 for all of 2023.
“The police don’t do too much. It’s such a common thing that they just basically told us it’s gone,” said Sulla.
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According to crime data, at least 185 vehicles were stolen in the Fairview parking lot in one year — the equivalent of one every two days.
“It’s like a buffet for car thieves. Everything’s there,” explained former Montreal police officer André Durocher, now the director of community relations and road safety with CAA-Québec.
“What used to happen between two and five o’clock in the morning in the darkness of night and the quietness of the wee hours of the morning is now happening in broad daylight,” added Bryan Gast, the VP of investigative services with Équité Association. “The criminals are getting more sophisticated. They can steal vehicles in 20 to 30 seconds. So now it is happening in parking lots. So really, any area is not immune to it.”
Over the last year, the federal government implemented a national strategy to combat auto theft. They estimate 90,000 cars are stolen each year in Canada – with the majority from Ontario and Quebec.
“There’s many reasons why vehicles are being stolen. But one of those reasons, a big reason, is for export. And with the Port of Montreal right there, that makes the area very susceptible to these targeted thefts,” said Gast.
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According to Équité Association, car thefts fell by 36 per cent in Quebec between January and July 2024.
“Hopefully it’s an ongoing trend,” said Durocher. “But what is it due to exactly? Is it because we talked about it a lot? Is it the result of the task force? I think it’s a whole combination of things. And also, of the public being aware. I always say, when people ask me, what’s the best measure, I say, it starts with something very basic: lock your car doors.”
So how do you keep your vehicle safe?
“I lock my doors and I just take my chance that way,” said on Montrealer CityNews spoke to.
Cynthia Jobin says: “I have an electric vehicle, so I have a system that if there’s someone that opens my door, I get an alert on my phone.”
Faisal added: “I double-lock the car and just try to be very vigilant.”
“If you have a brand new vehicle, it could be worth it,” said Durocher. “Measures that don’t cost much. A lot of the systems, like the keys, the smart keys that you have for the cars, they emit a signal. There’s little pouches that you can buy to put that inside when it’s in the house. And it will block the waves. That’s a little measure that doesn’t cost much.”
“You don’t have to do it all, but anything that you can do to slow the thief down, make it harder, make it add more layer,” Gast added.
