Toronto Cops Tell Citizens to Leave Car Keys Where Thieves Can Get Them

It has been said that Canadians are extremely polite, which, I suppose, is a good thing in the aggregate. On the other hand, one can be polite to the point that one surpasses "doormat" status, skips "victim," and goes straight to "statistic." The current statistics for auto theft in Toronto are not encouraging, but to be honest, not much news out of Canada is encouraging these days.

With car thefts hitting 25% in Toronto, police there have come up with a novel idea to address the problem. Authorities are advising citizens to leave their car keys by the door to increase the ease of access for home invaders looking to boost a car. Why not just leave the debit and credit cards and a birth certificate with the keys? Maybe even add a hunting rifle and a box of shells? How about the bank account numbers and a list of passwords? I mean, if one is going to be victimized by crime, why not just make it easier for everyone across the board?  

Lest you think I am joking, The Drive reports that Toronto Police Service Constable Marco Ricciardi told Toronto residents, “To prevent the possibility of being attacked in your home, leave your [key] fobs at your front door because they're breaking into your home to steal your car. They don't want anything else." 

Right.

If you are not eager to donate your vehicle to the local crime ring, the Toronto police are happy to give you a free doorstop to help keep criminals from kicking in your front door. No, seriously. The cops in Toronto are handing out doorstops.

A Unionville family tells @citynews they received doorstops in their mail from police, in an effort to prevent door-kick break-ins to steal car keys... a growing issue in the area. The full story here: https://t.co/4V5DLSoK43 pic.twitter.com/KAMmxFfzLr

— Michelle Mackey (@michellemackey) March 11, 2024

The Drive notes that some people are leaving their cars unlocked with a note so that the thieves do not break the windows. Why not add a casserole and an Amazon gift card while you're at it? A few hearty citizens are not taking the problem lying down:

…one Honda CR-V owner has installed two alarm systems, a tracking device, four (4) Apple AirTags, keeps the key fob in a signal-jamming Faraday bag, and has two motion-sensitive floodlights pointed at his modest suburban driveway. When parked, there are also parking boot-style wheel locks on every wheel, a steering wheel club, and even a bollard in the driveway to keep it from being driven away.

All of that is just so the man can park the car in his own driveway. And to think I just go out at night and lift the door handles to make sure our cars are locked. When a society reaches this point, it might as well go ahead and defund the police. If the best the cops can do is tell you to make it easier to steal your possessions and hand you a doorstop, a country is pretty much finished. 

This is what a nation looks like under the aegis of a Justin Trudeau or a Joseph Robinette Biden. Are you worried about the country turning into Haiti? Because FYI, immigrants or no immigrants, this is how a country turns into Haiti — or Portland or San Francisco.