Car thieves embrace keyless entry technology

A number of Mahogany residents have had their vehicles recently looted without any signs of forced entry

Vehicle thefts and car prowlings are on the rise in Calgary and thieves are gaining access to newer vehicles without leaving any indication of forced entry.

Staff Sergeant Kristie Verheul of the Calgary Police Service economic crimes unit says criminals are adapting to innovations adopted by the auto manufacturing industry including keyless entry.

“As technology changes with vehicles, criminals are thinking and searching out new and different ways of stealing vehicles or getting into vehicles,” said Verheul.

Justin James, a resident of Mahogany, began questioning his own habits when he recently noticed his vehicle was unlocked prior to his morning commute on consecutive days.

“I started to wonder whether I had locked it myself,” said James. “I started to pay closer attention and soon learned that it wasn’t me unlocking my door.”

“I was making sure that I locked my door and one morning I found everything thrown all over the place. Somebody had been in my car.”

James says nothing was removed from his car but, after talking to neighbours, he soon realized he was not alone. More than a dozen Mahogany residents had been victims of car prowlings but there were no signs of forced entry.

The Calgary Police Service is aware of technology available online that allows thieves to clone keys or fool a keyless entry system by jamming or replicating the signal but officers have yet to locate the technology in Calgary.

Staff Sergeant Verheul says the majority of vehicle thefts and car prowlings in Calgary are crimes of opportunity and there are steps Calgarians can take to avoid being victimized.

“You want to make sure that you are locking your doors and keep the inside of your car clean,” explained Verheul. “Don’t keep change in your car, don’t keep expensive sunglasses in the car or expensive valuables in the car. Make sure you’re taking all of that stuff our every night.”

Verheul adds Calgarians should take measures to keep their keys out of the wrong hands.

“Keep your keys with you not under the vehicle mat, not in the gas cap cover, nowhere in your garage hanging up, don’t leave your vehicle running in your driveway. Those keys are a commodity and vehicles are being traded right now for cash or drugs and they help facilitate other crimes.”

Calgary has seen an increase in vehicle thefts in 2015 compared to previous years and police expect the trend to continue.

‘Property crime is very lucrative and supports a lot of other crime. We just have to be really diligent.”

For Justin James, he plans to install a surveillance camera to monitor the area around his home while continuing to keep his car empty at night.

With files from CTV's Alesia Fieldberg