Many Northern Communities Buck Downward Trend in Auto Theft

By 250 News

Look at this map of Prince George very closely, it will show you where a vehicle is most likely to be stolen.  The darker the mark, the higher the rate of vehicle theft from that area.  (map courtesy ICBC)

The bait car program in B.C. is about to  celebrate it’s tenth birthday, and while   there are many in the lower mainland ready to  put on the party hats and blow out the candles.  Initiatives, inlcuidng the bait  vehicle program are  having an impact on reducting auto theft in that part of B.C.

It is a different story in the central and northern part of the province.

According to ICBC stats, Prince George, the only northern community with a bait vehicle program, continues to see  an increase in auto theft.  The good news is the rate of increase in Prince George is not as high as some other  communities in the region, the bad news is,  the number of vehicles being stolen continues to climb.

The latest figures show only Fort St. John as being on par with the provincial average:

There is no easy answer as to why the stats are so different north of Hope. “We don’t know why” says ICBC’s Allison Gourley -Cramer, “The stats were just received in February so it will take some further analysis to see if there is some identifiable reason.”

Gourley-Cramer says new initiatives will be tried in the Prince George Region.  “We need to get people on board.  We need to remind them that when you are spending $60 thousand dollars on a vehicle, a $300 dollar immobiliser is a sound investment.”  She says having such a device can also mean a reduction in insurance rates.

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