Near $1b in motor vehicle theft up to Mar 31
Published:Friday | April 4, 2025 | 5:37 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Criminals stole a staggering $904.8 million worth of motor vehicles across the island in the first three months of this year, according to police records.
Between January 1 and March 31 this year, 474 vehicles were reported stolen with only 76 recovered, according to a report from the police’s Stolen Motor Vehicle Unit (SMVU) in the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC).
The estimated value in recovered stolen vehicles is $152.7 million.
To date, there has been a 25 per cent year-on-year increase in motor vehicle larceny and 73 per cent increase in recovery. One hundred and thirty-five offenders have been placed before the court to answer to charges. In terms of court proceedings, 64 offenders have been granted bail, 35 have had their cases disposed of, and 23 are currently remanded.
The police say that 46 per cent of the stolen vehicles were without anti-theft devices while 45 per cent were equipped.
Ninety-eight per cent of the vehicles had third-party insurance.
Most targeted areas
The report also highlighted the areas most targeted by thieves, with the St Andrew Central Police Division seeing the highest number of cases, particularly around Half-Way Tree. In contrast, the Portland Police Division had the fewest reports, with only two cases.
The Toyota Probox emerged as the most stolen vehicle model, with 56 reported thefts, followed by the Voxy (46), Axio (45), AD Wagon (43), and Mark X (24). White vehicles were the most commonly targeted, with 205 of the 474 stolen vehicles being white, followed by grey, black, silver, and blue.
The Gleaner understands that 73 per cent of owners losing vehicles are males.
Of the 76 vehicles recovered this year, 56 had minor damage, 17 were still in good condition, two had major damage, and one had been partially scrapped.
The recovery of stolen vehicles is most prominent in the Area Four Police Division, which includes Kingston Western, Kingston Eastern, Kingston Central, St Andrew South, and St Andrew Central, where 36 per cent of the recovered vehicles were found.
On Tuesday, five scrapped motor vehicles believed to have been stolen were found in a section of Burger Gully in Mountain View, St Andrew, by the police.
Sunday is the most common day for vehicle thefts, with the time between midnight and 3 a.m. being the peak period.
Key player killed
Last week, the police assigned to C-TOC’s SMVU shot and killed Rohan Anglin o/c ‘Anchie’ during an operation along Lothian Avenue in the Corporate Area. The police say that Anglin, a reputed gangster, was a key player in the stolen motor vehicle trade.
The police have also seized high-tech devices used by criminals, such as “flippers” (for cloning key fobs) and an Autel device (used to bypass immobilisers and reprogramme electronic-control units). Criminals are also believed to be in possession of GPS antispy terminator, which is used by criminals to disable GPS trackers, conceal vehicle location, and evade recovery efforts.
More than 1,400 vehicles were stolen in the first 11 months of 2024.
Data from the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) indicate that between January and September last year, 957 stolen vehicle claims were made locally, more than the total filed in 2023.
Nine hundred and fifty-three claims were filed in 2023, eleven per cent more than the 862 claims in 2022.
There were 686 claims in 2021.
During an interview with The Gleaner, Peter Levy, vice-president of the IAJ, noted that the figures only reflected vehicles with theft coverage and did not include those covered by third-party insurance, which complicates the overall picture.
Levy also said that the increase in claims drives up premiums for motor vehicle insurance.