A Vancouver single mom is desperate during the holidays after heartless thieves stole her car, dumped the car seats and stroller, and went on a joyride that included a string of robberies and ended in a spectacular crash in Surrey.
Jane Scott’s car – a 1999 Intrepid – was a Christmas present from her parents that replaced a car that had broken down. She won’t be able to bring her kids to school or daycare, and is worried what this will mean for her job.
“I want people to understand that when they do something like that they really mess someone’s life up. Ultimately it could cost me my job if I don’t find a way to get to work,” said Scott,
Police said the car’s window was smashed when it was stolen from the area around 1st Avenue and Renfrew Street in Vancouver on Saturday night – just one example of a region-wide surge in thefts this year.
Four suspects used it to rob cigarettes from a convenience store in Burnaby. Then as the suspects were driving it to Surrey they flipped the car and crashed into the “Welcome to Surrey” sign south of the Pattullo Bridge.
The four fled the vehicle, leaving behind cigarettes and other stolen property. The Surrey RCMP police dogs tracked the suspects but couldn’t find them.
The car seats weren’t found, Scott said, meaning that she’ll have to buy more seats before she can use any car she gets to ferry the kids around.
“There’s no way to get through to someone like that,” Scott said. “They’re probably motivated by drugs and money. They don’t care about anyone. They saw the car seats were in the car, they know I have kids, they removed the car seats, they know that this person has children and has a life.”
Scott added the car only had basic insurance – not covered for theft – because she can only barely make ends meet. She sold her 1992 Buick Skylark for scrap when she got the Intrepid. She says she couldn’t afford theft insurance because she is saving every penny for $1450 a month child care for her eight year old son Phoenix and three year old daughter Hailey.
Scott’s 1999 Intrepid did have an immobilizer, but the previous owner had lost the fob and so she was just using the key. She’s not one to ask for help but she’s not sure what to do.
“I don’t want to ask for anything,” she said, “But if there’s anything anyone can do I’d appreciate it.”
More cars are getting stolen across the Lower Mainland this year, said Insp. Peter Jadis of the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team, or IMPACT.
“We’ve seen a bit of a spike,” he said.
In Surrey, year over year numbers point to a 57 per cent increase in auto crime. In Vancouver, it’s about 20 per cent. In Burnaby it’s an increase of 90 per cent.
Jadis says thieves don’t keep cars for as long as they used to – constant licence plate scanning means that they could be pulled over, so they dump the cars every three or four days rather than every seven to 10 days.
Anti-theft devices built into cars can be defeated if the keys are stolen, so burglars breaking into houses can get the keys and take off with the cars, he said. Police believe the crimes are largely being committed by a small group of prolific offenders.
“We’re looking at strategically targeting individuals now and putting a dent in some of those numbers,” Jadis said.
The number of cars stolen is still a fraction of what it was a decade ago. In 2003, 6317 cars were reported stolen in the City of Vancouver, down to about 1210 between January and November of 2014.
Scott has set up a GoFundMe account to help replace her car. Donations can be made online here.
