Police Chief Jon Bergen addressed the city's 2020 crime stats during Monday's Board of Police Commissioners meeting. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crimes of opportunity

Despite drop in vehicle thefts, police encouraging city residents to remain vigilant

Jan 25, 2021 | 2:50 PM

Following the rapid drop in temperatures, people may be more prone to letting their vehicles warm up a bit longer, but Prince Albert’s Chief of Police hopes those same people remember not to leave their keys in the ignition and their doors unlocked.

Vehicle thefts were included in the 2020 year-end stats, and discussed during Monday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting. The total number of stolen vehicles last year was 264, compared to 330 in 2019. Police Chief Jon Bergen said the majority (77) were a result of the thief having use of a key or a fob.

“If we can definitely have the owners taking additional measures in securing their keys and fobs, then we are going to have fewer stolen vehicles,” he said.

Bergen acknowledged even the police service was not immune to vehicle theft either, and briefly discussed a case that remains before the courts. A 34-year-old woman is accused of stealing a police vehicle from the police station parking lot and made it as far as 17 blocks, before colliding with a snow bank. Damage to the vehicle was minimal and included some minor damage to a light on the front bumper. No one was injured.

“We had our own experience where a vehicle was left running but with the proximity key. The proximity key wasn’t in the car but the vehicle was taken,” Bergen said.

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Appendix 18: a visual representation that illustrates the clearances of each stolen vehicle and when keys are reported to have been available for the theft. (City of Prince Albert)

Of the total vehicles stolen last year, 247 were recovered and the majority (175) were in Prince Albert. Bergen revealed however the amount of cases that actually went to court was low, with only 30 charges moving forward related to the 264 vehicles, or 14 per cent of total cases.

The biggest reasons given for the inability to proceed were insufficent evidence, followed by suspected insurance fraud and five reports were unfounded. Mayor and board Vice-Chair Greg Dionne said insurance companies can do more to help encourage vehicle owners to be more cautious.

“If the insurance company says if you leave your vehicle running, unlocked in your driveway, and it gets stolen, you’re not gonna get insurance. That will help but they won’t do that. They won’t even inflict a $1,000 penalty on your insurance if you leave your keys in it,” he said.

A spokesperson for SGI acknowledged other people have made a similar point about stiffer penalties, but added nothing has been implemented at this time. The spokesperson also noted the vehicle owner is still responsible for paying the deductible, which of course varies based on their insurance package.

According to SGI, there were 2,780 vehicle theft claims (recovered and unrecovered) in 2020 for thefts that occurred in the province. So far this year there were 164 theft claims registered.

It’s important to note these only include claims that were made to SGI. Some vehicle thefts wouldn’t result in an insurance claim, and people don’t always report a claim right after it occurred.

These numbers reflect when the claim was filed, not when the theft took place. (e.g. if someone had their vehicle actually stolen in November 2019 but didn’t report to SGI it until January 2020 , that claim would be reflected in the 2020 stats). However, it shouldn’t change the numbers very much, according to SGI.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell