We’ve been telling people to get a tracking device for their vehicle just in case it’s stolen, something more law enforcement agencies and insurance carriers have been counseling people. But this story out of Canada mirrors others we’ve seen lately with police dragging their feet and almost not recovering a stolen truck in time, even thought the owner knew exactly where it was.
Tracking device shows stolen car was shipped to the Middle East.
Michael Walker’s Toyota Tacoma was swiped out of his driveway in Ontario, Canada back in early January, something far too many people in many countries have experienced. And like in so many other car theft cases, his ride was taken to one location, then loaded into a shipping container on a train.
As detailed out in the CBC report, he contacted authorities who took their time getting the to the first location. By the time they go around to it, the truck was gone and loaded on the train. Again, getting them to check for it in the shipping container was like pulling teeth. Thankfully, they did arrive before the train pulled away. But the whole ordeal took 17 days.
In other cases, people have continued tracking their stolen ride as it’s loaded onto a boat, passing through customs checkpoints, then taken across the ocean to another country. So Walker got lucky and that’s crazy.
Law enforcement agencies are overloaded these days as it seems the world is rapidly turning upside down. While car theft is a problem, rampant homicides and other violent crimes suck up resources and we understand why. It also didn’t help that a few years ago many police departments had their budgets slashed because supposedly police are just bad.
One solution is that you go get your stolen vehicle yourself, but that comes with its own potential pitfalls. If it’s sitting in a public parking lot then we don’t see why you can do just that. But if it’s in a secured location, breaking in puts you in an array of dangers.
This and similar stories clearly illustrate crime is out of control these days. The cost is you might lose your vehicle. And everyone gets to deal with higher insurance rates as a result. Something has to change.
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