Achi news desk-
Club steering wheel locks, faraday cages and Apple AirTags.
Those are just a few of the tools Toronto drivers have used in recent years to protect their cars from theft, a crime so common in the city that a vehicle will be stolen every 40 minutes in 2023.
Now, Torontonians are looking at another device to stand between their vehicle and potential thieves – retractable bollards.
“They’re going to be putting up three metal barriers, basically to make sure that a thief will think twice before stealing one of my vehicles,” Larry Lau told CTV News as the vertical posts were installed at his home in Toronto.
The design of the stainless steel posts is simple: users pull them up when they want to secure their car and push them down when they are ready to drive.
“The only way the bollard can go back down is through the safety key,” Achoy Ladrick, founder of Bollard Boys GTA, told CTV News as he and his team installed the posts at Lau’s residence.
“We haven’t had any vehicles stolen after installation,” added co-founder Stephan Bordun.
The jobs themselves cost about $2,000 a piece and the Bollard Boys say they’ve been busy, receiving requests for service across North America and as far away as San Francisco.
Bollards were also seen for sale at several Costco locations in the Greater Toronto Area as drivers got creative in their efforts to protect their cars in the face of rampant auto theft.
According to the latest Toronto Police Service (TPS) data, car theft in the city has increased year-on-year since 2019 and will reach a peak of 12,290 incidents in 2023, which equates to 34 vehicles per day or one theft every 40 a minute. .
So far this year, the city has seen 4,492 car thefts.
Lau was one of those victims. His Range Rover was stolen from his driveway about a month ago.
Surveillance video of the robbery shows a suspect entering his vehicle, just 45 minutes after he returned home from dinner. The luxury SUV had a club steering wheel lock, but the individual was able to dismantle it and remove the Apple AirTags Lau had installed.
Surveillance video shows Larry Lau’s Range Rover being stolen from his own driveway. (Supplied)
Police eventually found the SUV, only for it to be stolen again from the repair yard.
“What is going on in this city that something like this happens so often?” Lau asked.
TPS is making progress in fighting car theft in the city. In March, police announced they had seized 48 stolen vehicles and laid 150 charges in connection with two separate but related undercover investigations.
In 2023, TPS partnered with the Ontario Provincial Police to launch the Provincial Joint Carjacking Task Force (PCJTF), which has resulted in more than 120 arrests, 730 charges and nearly 160 stolen vehicle recoveries.
Last month, the federal government outlined its so-called “national action plan” to combat car theft, including measures such as stronger penalties for thieves, and greater information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement .
Have you resorted to any new methods to prevent your vehicle from being stolen. CTV Toronto wants to hear from you. Send your suggestions to [email protected].
With files from Adrian Ghobrial and Luca Caruso-Moro
