The key to preventing auto theft could be in the bag for Barrie, Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury.
The Barrie and South Simcoe police services jointly announced a new initiative Wednesday morning which they hope will help combat auto thefts in the area.
Chiefs from both local police agencies — Barrie’s Rich Johnston and South Simcoe’s John Van Dyke — said their partnership is possible due to the announcement of a grant last November from the provincial government which will see $18 million spent over a three-year period for 21 projects across Ontario.
The Barrie and South Simcoe police services received $1.8 million combined as their portion of the province’s preventing auto thefts grant.
In the coming weeks, both police departments will be distributing 10,000 Faraday bags to the public. These special bags are designed to prevent key-fob signals from being obtained by criminals looking to steal vehicles.
Faraday bags are small pouches made of conductive metallic fabric that blocks signals from reaching whatever is inside. In this case, that would be the key fobs.
There will also be messaging on social media to help spread the information.
Police also noted the public can expect updates when arrests and recovered stolen vehicles are located, and where and when thefts are occurring, so precautions to can put in place to prevent future theft occurrences.
“Hot-wiring or using a slim jim (lock pick) to get into a car, those days are gone,” Johnston told BarrieToday after this morning’s announcement at city police headquarters on Fairview Road.
“The technology that is built into all cars today allows for the ability of someone who is tech-savvy to come in and mirror a key just from sheer proximity," he explained. "With that level of technology out there, we have to take new and innovative approaches to try and reduce that crime."
Johnston noted Barrie and South Simcoe police officers will be out at events and are going to have the Faraday bags to hand out to citizens.
“We have made an incredible investment to your readers,” Johnston said of the protective bags.
"(People have also) made an incredible investment in a piece of property that’s worth a lot of money,” he added. “Just take the time to put that electronic key in the Faraday bag wherever you are leaving it. The idea is that it may be all that is necessary to reduce that theft — nothing is foolproof — but that will reduce it."
Johnston also recommends using a locking device on your steering wheel in addition to the Faraday bag, as the idea is to make that vehicle investment less attractive to criminals who are looking for a quick steal.
“The farther away they are to the point of entry where someone could walk up as close as possible to try and map that key with the technology that’s out there, the better,” he explained.
Van Dyke, whose police department oversees Innisfil and Bradford, says he recognizes the growing difficulty in the battle against auto theft.
“It’s a plague, unfortunately … It started as a trickle and has now become a full-grown river and that’s why we are here today to announce our initiative and our working together to pool our resources to fight it,” he said.
“Obviously, we have finite resources,” Van Dyke added, “so when we combine the two services’ resources, it bolsters our investigative strength and will help in working with our other GTA partners in other police services as well.”
Part of the province’s funding will also help to pay for a crime analyst position within their departments.
Barrie police Const. Keira Brooks, who manages their Citizens on Patrol volunteer unit, says she welcomes the analyst position as they will be mapping where all vehicles have been stolen.
“(Then) we can effectively go out and speak to each one of our victims, ask them how they are, provide them with a Faraday bag, and let them know that we are in the area and that we have our Citizens on Patrol and our auxiliary members out in the community working to make sure they feel safe," she said.
Paul Larman, who has been a Citizens on Patrol volunteer for the past six years, was on hand at the announcement. The volunteers will also be assisting with the distribution of the Faraday bags and information sheets on how to best protect vehicles from theft. They also take an active role in auto-theft investigations.
“Some of our patrol assignments are looking at commuter lots (for stolen vehicles), the GO stations, storage places and other likely places,” Larman said. “We get a list that is updated every day and we look for specific vehicles that have been stolen.”
