Carjackings in York Region have more than doubled so far this year, part of a concerning trend that has seen them skyrocket since 2019.
“Over a five year period, we’ve seen a 400 per cent increase in carjackings, which are violent and traumatizing for victims and their families,” York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.
There have been a total of 64 carjackings in the region since January, representing a 106 per cent increase from the same time period in 2023.
MacSween said the region has also seen a 92 per cent increase in shootings, with a total of 46 in the region since January.
The figures come as the force released its latest statistics on crime in the region, amid what it calls a ‘surge’ in violent crime.
“Almost all of the guns being used in these crimes are illegal handguns, many of which are being smuggled across the border from the U.S.,” MacSween said. “The surge in gun violence can be attributed to organized crime rings who are obtaining and using illegal handguns to commit a number of offences.”
He said organized crime is also behind the increases in auto thefts and the ongoing conflict in the tow truck industry.
“As we continue to see, some tow truck organizations are resorting to both gun violence and arson as a means of threatening their business rivals,” the chief said. “The trend in violent crime is a major concern and will continue to be a top priority for York Regional Police for the remaining months of 2024 and will continue to be as we move into 2025.”
He said YRP will be launching two major initiatives next month -- a dedicated carjacking Task Force, and a “comprehensive” auto theft prevention campaign to educate the community on how they can protect themselves and their vehicles.
While the number of carjackings are up, overall authotheft in the region has actually declined 33 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, the chief said.
He praised the work of officers, as well as partner agencies and organizations for the reduction.
All 15 homicides have been targeted
The chief also addressed homicides in the region, saying they have been “highly publicized and troubling.”
There have been 15 homicides in York Region so far this year, with five of them having taken place in the last few weeks since July 25.
“All of the victims in these cases were targeted. These were not random crimes,” MacSween said. “However, we do understand that these crimes can shake our community to its core and are extremely tragic for victims, family members and loved ones.”
The force said they are particularly concerned about a rise in intimate partner violence.
“The one concern that we do have – the homicides that are in relation to gender based violence and intimate partner violence are a major concern to us,” Deputy Chief Alvaro Almeida said.
“So this is something that we continue to beat the drum, for members of the community to assist us in giving us the advance warning that something is on the horizon.”
Police remaining vigilant around hate crimes
Hate crimes in the region are up four per cent so far this year compared to the same period last year.
“During the last year, we’ve definitely all seen how incidents of a global nature can easily impact our local community,” MacSween said.
He said communities need to remain vigilant and work with the force to ensure safety, pointing out that spaces in York Region were also threatened amid nationwide bomb threats targeting Jewish organizations over the past two weeks.
“When incidents like this occur, our officers are proactive and reach out to our faith leaders and visit places of worship to ensure that there is no threat to the community and people feel safe,” MacSween said. “York Region is one of the most diverse communities in all of Canada, which makes it a great place to live and raise a family, but there’s zero tolerance for hate.”
He urged anyone who witnesses an incident to contact police immediately.