As brazen car thieves wreak havoc in Toronto, a local police officer who advised residents to make it easier for criminals and avoid violent confrontations shows a “total breakdown of society,” a 20-year veteran told Fox News. years of the NYPD.
“It seems like the Toronto police are basically telling people to give up and not worry about having their car stolen,” said former NYPD Detective Vic Ferrari. “It's cowardice.”
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Car thefts in the Canadian city surpassed 12,000 incidents in 2023 (a 25% increase from the previous year) and last year saw a 400% increase in home break-ins and break-ins for car theft incidents. cars, according to data from the Toronto Police Service. The skyrocketing number of burglaries prompted Toronto police officer Marco Ricciardi to offer prevention tips at a safety meeting in Etobicoke on Feb. 27, where he advised locals to leave their keys closer to their doors. homes to stay safe, CityNews reported.
“To avoid the possibility of being attacked in your house, leave your keychains at the front door because they are breaking into your house to steal your car; they don't want anything else,” Ricciardi said at the meeting.
A Toronto police officer gave controversial advice to locals about the rise in car thefts in recent years. (Andrew Francis Wallace / Contributor)
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“Many of those they are arresting have weapons and they are not toy weapons,” he added. “They're real guns. They're loaded.”
Toronto police released tips to prevent car theft home invasions in a memo Wednesday, which included telling locals to park their vehicles in garages, keep driveways well lit at night and install security systems at home if possible. They also addressed Ricciardi's comments, which sparked outrage online among some fierce critics, the New York Post reported.
“An officer at a recent community meeting suggested that people leave their vehicle keys in a faraday bag by the front door,” Toronto police wrote. “While well-intentioned, there are also other ways to prevent home invasions motivated by car theft.”
Toronto police also responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment on Thursday, reiterating that Ricciardi's comment was “well-intentioned and, for context, was in response to the increasing number of violent home invasions and burglary-related break-ins vehicular”.
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But Ferrari, who worked in the New York Police Department's Automotive Crimes Division, said Ricciardi's advice would further embolden car thieves.
“Maybe it's easy to give up, but you shouldn't do it because it's a total breakdown of society,” Ferrari said. “Don't make it easy for them. Defend your car.”
A Toronto police officer advised locals to leave their car keys near their front doors to avoid violent confrontations with car thieves after the city saw a 400% increase in home break-ins and burglary break-ins. of cars between 2022 and 2023. (REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo)
“Because what's next? First they're going to steal your car, then they're going to break into your house,” he continued. “Then they will kick you out of your house. You have to take a stand with these people.”
Car theft incidents in Toronto have risen steadily in recent years, more than doubling between 2019 and 2023, according to police data. The city has already seen 2,300 incidents so far this year in 2024, according to the data.
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The NYPD veteran blamed prosecutors and police for not holding criminals accountable.
“No one is stopping these people from doing these things and they are getting a slap on the wrist,” Ferrari said. “It falls to the police departments and the prosecutor's office.”
Some critics have blamed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the rise in car theft after approving amendments made to the Criminal Code in 2022 that allowed criminals to serve under house arrest if they were not considered a threat to public safety and were sentenced. to less than two years in prison. prison. Trudeau said he was considering enacting tougher penalties for violent car thieves at a national summit in Ottawa last month on the car theft crisis.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at a national summit on the car theft crisis in February. He said he was considering imposing tougher penalties on car thieves in response to the increase. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
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But car theft will continue to increase until tougher penalties are implemented, Ferrari said.
Criminals “say to themselves, 'Well, look at this. I can make money stealing a car and nothing will happen to me if I get caught, so I'll keep doing it,'” Ferrari said. “That is a collapse of society.”
Ramiro Vargas contributed to the attached video. Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
