York Regional Police issued a warning to the public following a re-emergence of staged-collision carjackings this winter.
The scam sees suspects purposely cause minor collisions by driving into the victim’s vehicle and when the victim gets out to assess the damage, the suspects will confront the victims, often with firearms, and steal the vehicle.
Suspects have also used distraction techniques to allow another suspect to steal the vehicle.
“Unfortunately, this is nothing new,” said Const. James Dickson. “We’ve seen this style of carjacking previously in the past. In 2023, we saw three incidents in a very short succession in Markham. And again we’re seeing the re-emergence in the south end of the region.
“Any time we see crime, it often goes in cycles. It’s not like the criminals are out there reinventing the wheel. They’re using the same styles. In the summer we saw people being carjacked in parking lots. In the fall, we saw home invasions for the purposes of obtaining keys. And now towards the end of the winter, November through January, we’ve seen this style of the low-impact collision occurring again.”
Police pointed out four examples of the stage collisions:
— On Nov. 3 at about 7 p.m., a Lexus was hit and stolen by two armed suspects;
— On Nov. 20 at about 7:10 p.m., a Cadillac Escalade was hit by a bike and stolen by two armed suspects who pulled up in a sedan;
— On Jan. 9 at about 8:20 p.m., a Cadillac Escalade was hit and there was an attempt by two suspects, one armed, to steal the car before a kill switch prevented the theft;
— And on Friday at about 5:50 p.m., a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon was hit and stolen by a suspect.
“Criminals are not looking to damage the vehicles,” said Dickson. “More, they’re trying to stop the civilians that are driving the cars. It makes it very concerning because it’s natural for any motorist that’s in a minor collision to get out and take a look at the damage. The criminals are unfortunately aware of this and they are taking advantage of the good nature of the average citizen.”
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Police advised that if you feel you are being followed or if something doesn’t feel right, drive to a police station or contact them immediately. They also advised that if you are involved in a collision and have concerns about the circumstances, call 911.
If you are the victim of a carjacking, prioritize personal safety.
“The biggest thing to remember is that they’re interested in (your) property,” said Dickson.
“We’re encouraging the public to take the steps ahead of time to install the GPS trackers, to get the cloud-based attached cameras, to try to put themselves in a position where they’re taking a minute and slowing down and being as aware of their surroundings as they can possibly be to avoid any circumstance where someone ends up being hurt.”
Anyone with information about these types of incidents is asked to contact police at 1-866-876-5423, Ext. 6630, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.1800222tips.com.