Motor vehicle theft consists of taking, or attempting to take, a vehicle without the owner's authorization. A motor vehicle is defined as a car, truck, van, bus, recreational vehicle, semi-trailer truck, motorcycle, construction machinery, agricultural machinery or other land-based motorized vehicle such as an all-terrain vehicle, a go-kart, a dune buggy or a snowmobile.

Trends

In 2003 every province reported an increase in motor vehicle theft rates, except Quebec and Ontario which remained stable. In New Brunswick the motor vehicle theft rate reportedly increased by 15% in 2003. New Brunswick continues to have the third lowest motor vehicle theft rate in Canada. ¹

Understanding Vehicle Theft

According to a 2001 study conducted by the Canadian Center for Justice Statisitcs, the most common areas for vehicle thefts to occur are:

Most thefts occurred between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon.

Vehicles are stolen for a variety of reasons

'Joyriding' / Transportation

This occurs when a vehicle is stolen with no purpose other than to ride around in it and then leave it somewhere when the ride is over.

Commision of Other Offences

People will sometimes steal a vehicle to transport to and from the scene of a crime, usually to provide themselves with a mode of transportation that is not traceable back to them.

Profit

Motor vehicles are sometimes stolen as part of commercial theft, mostly by people involved in organized crime. Vehicles can either be resold as a whole or dismantled and sold as parts.

Preventing Motor Vehicle Theft

There are a number of measures that can be taken by vehicle owners and manufacturers to help prevent motor vehicle theft, including:

Another preventative measure in place in New Brunswick is "branding". Under this program, the status of stolen and salvaged vehicles is recorded on registration documents and other relevant forms such as used-vehicle information packages, in order to discourage the misuse of vehicle information numbers (VINs) and to facilitate the tracking of vehicle ownership.

Any vehicle that is branded as "irreparable" can never be put back on the road, so that its VIN becomes useless to thieves. Vehicles branded as "salvage" can only be returned to the road if they are rebuilt to provincial standards and re-branded accordingly.

¹ Canadian Center For Justice Statistics, Juristat Crime Statistics in Canada, 2003

² Some information provided by Alberta Solicitor General website available at: http://www.solgen.gov.ab.ca/crime_prev/default.aspx