The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) is reporting a large spike in vehicles recovered with the aid of third-party tracking devices.
Police say "Project Oxygen" was launched in May 2023 as a partnership between the HRPS and local auto dealerships.
The project encourages residents to place third-party trackers (such as an Apple Air Tag, Tile, Galaxy Smart Tag or Atuvos) in well-hidden locations within their vehicles, police said in a news release.
Tracker tools can relay the location of a stolen vehicle to the owner.
"Armed with this information, police are in a better position to recover the vehicle and make an arrest," police said.
Police said the key to success is the location of the tracker in the automobile.
While a thief may become aware of the presence of an aftermarket tracker, a well-hidden device or one placed in a difficult spot to access, may give police valuable time to locate the vehicle or cause the thieves to abandon it.
Police said that to build momentum and showcase the value of aftermarket trackers, the project team connected directly with local dealerships who agreed to install a tracker, including:
- Budds’ Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC
- Budds’ Imported Cars Jaguar Land Rover
- Lexus of Oakville
- Oakville Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
- Milton Chrysler Dodge Limited
- Milton Toyota
- South Oakville Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
- Oakville Honda
- Oakville Toyota
- Powerhouse of Milton
- Wallace Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC (Milton)
- Leggat Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC (Burlington)
As a result of Project Oxygen, 285 third-party tracking devices were installed at local Halton Region dealerships and 86 vehicles with a value of approximately $6.4 million were recovered via the use of third-party tracking devices, police say.
Police said this represents an increase of 350 percent when compared to 2022 vehicle recoveries.
Project Oxygen is set to continue into 2024 and the HRPS said it is allocating "significant resources" to investigate auto theft.
The public is encouraged to call 911 if they witness a crime in progress or if they see suspicious people/vehicles in their neighbourhood.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
