A majority of Canadians are not very confident about law enforcement’s response to car theft, according to a new poll.
The survey from Nanos Research, conducted for CTV News, looked at a sample of over 1,000 adults between Mar. 31 to Apr. 1. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey found that 38 per cent of Canadians say they are not confident in police recovery efforts for stolen cars and 30 per cent say they were somewhat not confident. In fact, only four per cent said they were more than somewhat confident in police.
“The largest proportion of those surveyed felt negatively, with just over 40 per cent saying, either somewhat or strongly, that police were doing a worse job than 10 years prior. Another 26 per cent indicated they felt things were more or less the same, but only about 15 per cent said that efforts to recover lost vehicles had improved since 2014,” the report read.
Women and older Canadians living in the Prairies and British Columbia were more likely to show confidence in car theft and recovery.
According to Équité Association’s 2023 Auto Theft Trend Report, a vehicle is stolen every five minutes in Canada.
“Between 2021-2023 auto theft trends increased sharply in Ontario (up 48.2 per cent), Quebec (up 57.9 per cent), Atlantic Canada (up 34 per cent), and in Western Canada (up 5.5 per cent),” a press release read.
In response to rising car thefts, the federal government announced an investment of $121 million to tackle gun crime and gang violence in Ontario.
In February, Canada’s Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc revealed that the government is investing $28 million into the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to help it combat rising numbers in auto theft.
