RCMP Cpl. Tim Shields of B.C.’s Integrated
Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team, stands in a
Surrey parking lot yesterday. B.C.’s bait-car
program, now the largest of its kind in North
America, began as a pilot project in Vancouver in
2002.
Crooks on candid camera B.C. police are using 'bait cars' equipped with video,
satellite tracking to catch thieves in the act Now a new
website allows you to ride along with the unsuspecting
criminals DANIEL
GIRARD WESTERN CANADA BUREAU
VANCOUVER—It's a simple message from cop to car thief:
Gotcha.
Police across British Columbia's lower mainland have
for more than a year been combating an epidemic of auto theft
by employing a fleet of "bait cars" equipped with cameras,
satellite tracking systems and ignition controls to catch
criminals in the act.
The program has not only reduced car thefts by 15 per
cent and sent repeat offenders to jail, it's now making for
some entertaining viewing with the launch of a new website —
baitcar.com —
that lets you ride along as unsuspecting crooks steal
vehicles.
So far, in just three weeks of operation, the website
has averaged an astounding 65,000 hits a day and attracted
attention from police forces and individuals around the world
as well as U.S. television shows including A Current Affair
and Good Morning America.
The website, which features a warning that the videos
"contain very coarse language and are not suitable for
children," shows grainy black-and-white footage of thieves
breaking into bait cars.
Shot by a camera hidden in the passenger seat, they
show the driver starting the vehicle and often boasting of the
theft to a partner as they race away from the scene.
But panic is soon evident. A police car, alerted by
bait car dispatchers, appears. When the stolen vehicle tries
to race away or make a move to elude the officer, those
monitoring it by a global positioning system and camera cut
the ignition. Arrests are then quickly made.
"You can't find someone who has not been a victim of
crime at some point in their lives," said Cpl. Tim Shields of
the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team, which
runs the bait-car program and the website.
"And people who have been victims want to see criminals
getting caught.
"These videos show that."
Some are also alarming. One shot in June of last year
but only made public this week features a habitual car thief
stealing a bait pickup truck. High on crystal meth, he races
through residential streets in suburban Vancouver at more than
140 km/h. Along the way he unsuccessfully tries 14 times to
fire a loaded handgun out the window, screams obscenities at
other motorists and shouts "oncoming" as he weaves through
traffic. (Since that time, bait-car regulations have been
changed so ignitions are disabled if a thief tries to elude
police or drives erratically, putting innocent people's lives
at risk. The fear had been that such a move could make the
vehicle uncontrollable and more dangerous.)
In 34 minutes, police said the man came in contact with
nine vehicles — stealing three, breaking into three along the
way and colliding with three others. The thief, who had 123
criminal charges in six years, was this month jailed for four
years.
"It sends chills down my spine even now," Shields said
of the video. "Any family could have been going through a
green light and been smoked by this guy.
"Our message here is that auto theft is a danger to all
of us."
Shields said the typical B.C. car thief is a drug
addict who is less interested in the vehicle than in using it
to commit other crimes such as thefts, break-and-enters and
purse snatchings to get money for their next fix. They target
autos that are easier to steal, such as the Dodge Shadow and
F-350 pickup trucks, police say.
By contrast, car thieves in Ontario are often involved
in organized crime and target the vehicle that is more
expensive and can be resold or shipped out of the country, he
said.
Several police forces in Greater Toronto ran bait-car
pilot projects a few years ago, but only Halton police
currently use the vehicles on an infrequent basis.
The other forces cut their programs because of budget
restraints. Video cameras were never part of the programs due
to legal privacy concerns, the Toronto Star's Bob
Mitchell reports.
Toronto police stopped using bait cars because they
found they weren't very effective, the Star's Tracy
Huffman reports.
"We tried using them about four or five years ago and
it wasn't very successful," said Det. Sam Cosentino, with the
Toronto police auto squad.
Several legal requirements have to be met in order to
use a bait car, he said. And if a bait car is placed in a mall
parking lot, for example, police have to post signs stating
such a car is in the area.
Cosentino said the signs just send the thieves
elsewhere.
"The problem is that you end up moving the problem, not
solving the problem," he said.
The bait-car concept began in Minneapolis, where police
saw a 40 per cent drop in auto thefts between 1997 and 1999.
B.C.'s bait-car program, now the largest of its kind in
North America, began as a pilot project in Vancouver in 2002.
It expanded in May of last year to 16 other
municipalities in the lower mainland. Vancouver Island has
since followed and the Okanagan is next.
Earlier this month, motorcycles, all-terrain and
recreational vehicles, snowmobiles and Ski-doos were added to
the bait-car fleet after a six-month trial in the lower
mainland.
During the first 12 months, thefts throughout the lower
mainland dropped by 15 per cent — or about 2,000 vehicles —
the first reduction after a decade of annual increases. With
insurance costs on each stolen auto set at $4,500, savings are
estimated to be $9 million.
The program cost about $1 million in its first year to
buy and equip bait cars and extensively advertise the program,
so the public — and thieves — know it's out there.
"We're definitely headed in the right direction," said
Doug Henderson, a spokesperson with the publicly owned
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).
"But the numbers are still too high and we've still got
work to do."
ICBC has spent about $3 million since 2002 on the
Vancouver pilot project and the expanded bait-car program
across the lower mainland, much of it on advertising, he said.
The ads are simple and to the point. One features a
large mousetrap in a parking lot and the caption: "Bait cars.
Steal one. Go to jail." They are posted in bars, at bus
shelters and other spots where they might reach those
contemplating an auto theft, Henderson said.
"There's definitely a deterrence factor in having it
out there and getting people to think twice about stealing a
car because it might end up being a bait car," he said. "And
there's also the enforcement factor when they're caught in a
bait car.
"To be successful, the two of them have to go hand in
hand."
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star
Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or
republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited
without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited.
For information please contact us using our webmaster
form. www.thestar.com online since 1996.
