More carjackings ahead: police union

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/12/2009 (6136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG should prepare for more carjackings because the widespread use of immobilizers has reduced the opportunity to steal unoccupied vehicles, says the head of the union representing city police officers.

The warning came after a weekend where two stolen Hummers were involved in high-profile crashes, including one that killed 47-year-old Zdzislaw Andrzejczak on Friday afternoon.

Mike Sutherland, Winnipeg Police Association president, said police are seeing more chronic car thieves using large SUVs like Hummers to evade officers.

"They’re stealing bigger vehicles, why? Because they can take a lot of damage and keep on ticking," he said. "They can smash into police cars, they can try to run over officers, they can go through barricades.

"What’s going to happen next is you’re going to have auto thieves stealing semi-trucks… the bottom line is, some of these people have stolen literally dozens of vehicles but they’re back out to steal again."

Police have not arrested anyone in connection with the man’s death after a white 2005 Hummer H2 struck his compact car only two blocks from his home. Witnesses said three suspects fled from the Hummer after it went through a stop sign and crashed into Andrzejczak’s car. The Hummer was stolen from a parking lot on the 1800 block of Wellington Avenue midday Friday, said police.

The Hummer was not running when it was taken, said police.

Sutherland said he’d like jail sentences stepped up against chronic car thieves. More immobilizers installed in vehicles MPI deems to be at high risk of theft will not solve the issue, he said.

Thieves are attracted to vehicles like Cadillac Escapades or Ford Expeditions, he said, and the trend to steal larger vehicles began over a year ago. There’s been a recent increase in carjackings due to people determined to steal cars by force if necessary, Sutherland said.

"You can take whatever preventative measures you can, and maybe that might delay the inevitable, but at the end of the day, the root cause of the situation is you have people who are bound and determined to steal vehicles one way or the other," he said. "If you stick immobilizers into everything…then we can expect they’ll be an increase in carjackings."

The Winnipeg Police Service confirmed there were 34 carjackings in Winnipeg in 2008, compared to 53 carjackings up to December 2009. A police spokesman said there was no indication the increase was due to immobilizer use.

"Those numbers do fluctuate from year to year," said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen.

On Saturday, a black 2006 H3 Hummer left running in a the driveway of a Sonnichsen Place home was stolen at about 7 a.m.

The 2006 H3 model is considered by MPI to be one of the most-at-risk vehicles for theft. Manitoba Public Insurance classifies the H2 model involved in Friday’s fatal crash as a moderate risk for theft.

The Hummer smashed into two cars before taking off, but an immobilizer would not be effective if the vehicle’s key was in its ignition as reported. MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said thieves are "opportunistic" and will take advantage of situations where vehicles are unattended.

"They target vehicles that are vulnerable to theft," he said.

"I wouldn’t say specifically they’re targeting big SUVs."

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca