Police crack down on auto theft with formation of a new unit in Simcoe County
Barrie Police and South Simcoe Police are joining forces to take on the epidemic of auto thefts.
In what both police services refer to as "borderless policing," a new auto theft unit will be formally created, equipped with new technology and tools to stop auto theft in its tracks.
"This is not a Barrie problem, It's not a South Simcoe problem," said Barrie Police Chief, Rich Johnston. "It's our problem together, it's public safety and it's our job to respond effectively."
Thousands of vehicles have been stolen across Ontario already this year, according to police.
During the creation of its task force with the Toronto Police Service in March of this year, the OPP said that between 2021 and 2023, violent carjackings and home invasions resulting in injury or death have increased by 206 per cent.
With alarming statistics like that, Barrie Police and South Simcoe Police believe now is the time to increase cooperation among their members.
"We're putting our great investigators together and they're going to flow seamlessly between both communities," Chief Rich Johnston said. "It's as I think both communities would expect from their police services."
In total, $1.8 million will be utilized over three years for the partnership between the services.
It comes from grant funding announced by the province last November, giving $18 million to 21 different projects across Ontario to target auto theft.
A Barrie Police logo on the side of a cruiser taken on May 1, 2024 (Christian D'Avino/CTV News).
The police services will be able to hire a part-time crime analyst to support its new unit, using data and analytics when investigating thefts.
"It will also give them some of the tools and equipment that I can't go into detail about," said South Simcoe Police Chief John Van Dyke." But especially for a small service like South Simcoe, that may have been out of our range to purchase."
- Download the CTV News app free to get local news alerts
- Don't miss breaking news - Sign up for the CTV Newsletter
With those tools comes the need for highly skilled individuals. Seven senior officers will make up the unit, according to the police services.
"These are not junior people," Chief Van Dyke added. "These are people that have worked in our police, speaking from South Simcoe, worked in our street crime unit investigating property crime for some time."
Public awareness and education will also be a key component of the grant funding, according to police.
10,000 Faraday bags that are designed to prevent key fob signals from being obtained will be distributed during community events in the coming weeks and months. Barrie Police said more of these bags would be made available in the future.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6903244.1716897063!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Scotiabank suffers direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
BREAKING Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Paris Olympics begin with unique opening ceremony along the Seine
The Paris Summer Olympics officially get underway today with a unique opening ceremony. Instead of marching into a stadium, representatives from more than 200 competing countries will enter the Games on boats along the River Seine.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.
'Catastrophic' situation 'cannot continue': Open letter from Trudeau, other PMs calling for Gaza ceasefire
Prime ministers of Canada, New Zealand and Australia released a letter renewing calls for an “urgent ceasefire” in Gaza on Friday morning.
Arson attacks cause travel chaos before start of Olympics in Paris, thwarting athletes' travel
Arsonists attacked the French high-speed rail network early Friday, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe for some 800,000 people, including Olympic athletes heading to the grand opening ceremony of the Games in the evening.
Latest updates on wildfires in Jasper National Park: Rain, cooler weather limiting spread
Cool and wet weather is making a difference in Jasper National Park.
'He was just gone': Police ramp up search for vulnerable 3-year-old boy in Mississauga, Ont.
Police in Mississauga are conducting a full-scale search of the city’s biggest park for a non-verbal toddler who went missing Thursday evening. Sgt. Jennifer Trimble told reporters Friday morning that there has been no trace of three-year-old Zaid Abdullah since 6:20 p.m., when he was last seen with his parents in Erindale Park, near Dundas Street West and Mississauga Road.