Doug Ford gets tough on car thieves

I see where Preem Douggie has dropped the gloves re: the stolen car epidemic that’s overtaken Toronto these past few years. Yup, Doug is getting tough on the scawflaws… he’s proposing to suspend their driving privileges! That’s right! Get busted for car theft and lose your driver’s license for ten years! Let’s think this through. It’s been a very long time since I stole a car, so I’m no expert, but it seems to me there are basically two types of car theft. Type one: the crime of convenience. You’re walking home from a night of excess at your favorite bar. It’s 4 a.m. and you’ve got another 12 blocks to go. As you’re wobbling by the 7-11 you notice a Dodge minivan idling in front with nobody in it… and holy shit, next thing you know, you’re a car thief! Frankly, under those circumstances, would the threat of a license suspension prevent this crime? I think not! Type two: the professional car thief. Those have always been with us. They thrive in the underground chop shops, autobody shops, wrecking yards, etc. It’s the pros who have driven up the car theft stats that have got Mr. Ford so revved up. But the growth hasn’t come from the traditional professional auto theft community. No, it’s mainly driven by foreign-based crime gangs who steal high-end vehicles for export. Apparently the Nigerians are big in this racket, finding it even more lucrative than the tried and true “my uncle was the deputy finance minister and if you help me launder the $50 million he looted I’ll cut you in for 10%” scam. My understanding is that the big dogs stay home in Nigeria, but send emissaries to Toronto. These guys mix in with local gangs where it’s easy to find a kid happy to take a $100k Audi out of someone’s driveway for a couple of hundred bucks. If anybody gets busted it’ll be the kid, not the emissary and surely not the boss in Lagos. That kid doesn’t need a driver’s license in the first place, so where’s the deterent? So why bother? Because there’s just too many folks in neighbourhoods just like Doug’s who are fretting about losing their high-end rides. That’s Doug Ford’s base! He’s obviously gotta be seen as doing something!