The spike in car thefts reported in Saturday’s paper is certainly worth noting. Especially when these are subsequently used to commit other crimes, this may have annoying consequences for the owners.
The latest figures provided again lead one to wonder what happens with these vehicles afterwards. Police say just about anything that can be driven, from scooters to trucks, is being targeted.
That raises even more questions as to where the stolen vehicles end up. It is, after all, an island and not that easy to ship things out unnoticed, although the fact that it is shared by two separate countries can hamper the process of speedily tracking down evidence and culprits.
The prevailing wisdom is that so-called “chop shops” buying and selling car-wrecks, but also individual parts, have something to do with it. Authorities on both sides of the open border have occasionally held raids at such businesses with some success, but it seems like too few and far between.
One aspect to keep in mind as well is that at the end of the high tourism season many rentals become available. It has been suggested in the past that part of the problem may be that cars are purposely stolen or false reports filed to collect on the insurance.
Whatever the reason, rather than concentrating only on the act itself also finding out who the thieves’ fencing customers are and going after them would appear to make sense. Follow the money.
