Vehicle thefts continue to happen in Milton and Halton, and the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) is getting help from a third-party.
They launched Project Oxygen in May 2023, and partnered with local auto dealerships to encourage residents to place third-party trackers (such as an Apple Air Tag, Tile, Galaxy Smart Tag or Atuvos) in well-hidden locations within their vehicles. These tracker tools utilize technology to relay the location of a stolen vehicle to its rightful owner. Armed with this information, police are in a better position to recover the vehicle and make an arrest(s).
“The key to success is the location of the aftermarket tracker in the automobile,” the HRPS says in a release. “While a thief may become aware of the presence of an aftermarket tracker, a well-hidden device or one placed in a difficult location to access, may give police valuable time to locate the stolen vehicle or cause the thieves to abandon the stolen vehicle.”
The project has the HRPS currently partnering with:
- Budds’ Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC
- Budds’ Imported Cars Jaguar Land Rover
- Lexus of Oakville
- Oakville Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
- Milton Chrysler Dodge Limited
- Milton Toyota
- South Oakville Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
- Oakville Honda
- Oakville Toyota
- Powerhouse of Milton
- Wallace Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC (Milton)
- Leggat Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC (Burlington)
As a result of Project Oxygen, 285 third-party tracking devices were installed at local Halton Region Dealerships and 86 vehicles with a value of roughly $6.4 million were recovered via the use of third-party tracking devices.
This represents an increase of 350% when compared to 2022 vehicle recoveries. As the HRPS continues to focus its efforts to curb auto theft, Project Oxygen is set to continue into 2024.
The HRPS is allocating significant resources to investigate auto theft occurrences. Please call 911 if you witness a crime in progress or if you see suspicious persons/vehicles in your neighbourhood.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
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