Torontonians unimpressed with Toronto police's car theft advice: Make it easier for thieves to steal your car?

Car theft is out of control in Toronto; indeed, a car is stolen every 40 minutes in Hogtown these days—it’s truly a crisis.

But at a recent community meeting, Toronto Police Constable Marco Ricciardi came up with a new whiz-bang way of addressing car theft. Which is to say, he suggested that car owners make it easier for the thieves to pilfer their cars!

We kid you not. Cst. Ricciardi recommended that car owners leave the key fob to their vehicle by the front door in a faraday bag. That way, the car thieves don’t have to go to all that trouble of breaking into a house to steal those keys… which might get a little messy for all involved and, presumably, require extra police work.

After all, the Toronto Police Service has its hands full these days, whether it is delivering coffee and Timbits to pro-Hamas demonstrators or arresting independent journalists who might have the temerity to ask such thugs “impolite” questions…

Gee, we wonder if Cst. Ricciardi also wants car owners to leave some cash in the bag as well? You know, so that the thieves have enough dough for gas money as they make their getaway? After all, a litre of gas now tops $1.60 in the GTA these days…

Alas, this so-called advice made international news for all the wrong reasons. Stories appeared in periodicals ranging from the Times of India to the UK’s Daily Mail.

Yet, what do the good people of Toronto have to say about this wacky idea?

We ventured to Yonge-Dundas Square to ask passersby their opinions, to see if they agreed with the idea of surrendering one’s ride as being a prudent strategy when it comes to dealing with would-be car thieves who might get violent.

Needless to say, people found this “wisdom” both ludicrous and laughable.

Indeed, the motto of the Toronto Police Service is: “To Serve and Protect.” But these days, we ponder: serve and protect… whom? Law-abiding citizens – or the criminal element?