Ontario spending $18 million over 3 years on auto theft prevention

The Ontariogovernment is spending $18 million over the next three years to fund projects intended tofight auto theft, Premier Doug Ford announced Friday morning.

The money will come through a preventing auto thefts grant, according to a news release accompanying the announcement. Through the grant, the money will fund 21 police projects that feature "new and enhanced crime-fighting measures" that target the prevention, detection, analysis and enforcement of auto thefts, the province says.

Ontarioannounced the creation of thegrant back in May, though how much money would be involved was not shared at the time.

Friday's announcement comes amidst rising auto theft numbers in Ontario. In the first half of 2023,there were 5,077 vehicles reported stolen in Toronto, according to the province. Ontario-wide, the number of car thefts were 31 per cent higher in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2022.

"The investments we're making across the provincewill help our police services fight back against auto theft and put the criminals behind bars where they belong," Ford said at the announcement outside the Peel Regional Police Headquarters inMississauga.

According to the news release, the money announced Friday will be spenton projectsincluding:

• Buying specialized surveillance equipment, software and tracking devices.
• Training police officers on skills specific to auto theft.
• Creating new units dedicated to auto theft, some of which will serve more than one police service.
• Expanding data collection on the links between auto theft and organized crime.
• Fostering partnerships with local car dealerships, the Insurance Bureau of Canada and the Canadian Automobile Association, or other similar organizations, to work onprevention strategies.

The Peel police will receive $900,000 of the $18 million, Ford said.