Vancouver-area auto theft down during Olympics
British Columbia’s Solicitor General Michael de Jong said that strategically placed bait cars helped send vehicle thefts downhill to a 14-year low during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
“We warned car thieves that bait cars would be everywhere during the Games, and it appears they got the message,” said de Jong.
“This success is all the more impressive given the number of visitors’ vehicles in B.C. during this time – not to mention that there are about 400,000 more vehicles on Metro Vancouver roads than there were in 1996.”
The February 2010 provincial totals — 730 vehicle thefts and 1,335 auto break-ins — were 64 and 71 per cent lower respectively than the 2,030 thefts and 4,645 break-ins in February 1996. Compared to February of last year, there were 210 or 22-per-cent fewer thefts and 680 or 15-per-cent fewer break-ins in February 2010.
"Our priority was to ensure that hundreds of thousands of visitors didn’t mean more opportunities for car thieves," said Sgt. Gord Elias of the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT).
"Our message to thieves was clear: we would not sit back and allow them to detract from people’s Olympic experience."
IMPACT’s strategy included deploying bait cars at Park & Rides, five VANOC parking and departure hubs, and Games Training and Preparation Centres. Many bait cars displayed cameras and laptops marked with new MicroDot DNA technology, which helps police track stolen goods and provides indisputable evidence in court.
