While the price and prominence of vehicle theft are becoming less of a worry in Calgary, insurance experts have warned that the province is becoming a hotspot for organized auto crime.

Despite recent reports showing a drop in vehicle theft, the cost of related auto insurance claims has surpassed the 10-year average across Canada — including in Alberta, where the worsening recovery rate for stolen vehicles has identified a different issue.

Released in early April, the Calgary Police Service’s (CPS) annual report showed that vehicle theft incidents have fallen by eight per cent since 2024, a 20 per cent decrease compared to the five-year average.

This is consistent both provincially and nationally, with auto theft claims declining in 2025. Come January 2027, this trend is expected to continue ahead of the Alberta government’s new care-first insurance model, which the province claimed will save drivers hundreds of dollars in annual premiums.

Although there has been clear progress in reducing the frequency and impact of auto theft, a February report from the Équité Association — a national non-profit dedicated to researching insurance fraud — found that the recovery rate for stolen vehicles in Alberta fell from 78 per cent in 2022 to 71 per cent in 2025.

The report determined that this “indicates increased exportation and re-VINing,” saying that “Alberta continues to be a feeder province to register stolen and re-VINed vehicles for the rest of Canada.”

Vehicle re-VINing in Calgary

Also called cloning, re-VINing is the process by which criminals illegally alter the vehicle identification number (VIN) of a stolen vehicle, often to register and sell it to an unsuspecting buyer, or to conceal any previous irreparable damage. 

LWC first contacted CPS on April 28, asking for information on the recovery rate for stolen-vehicle trends related to re-VINing in Calgary, specifically. They were unable to provide this information in the email statement received on May 12. 

Further clarification was requested from LWC, and this article will be updated accordingly if this is received.

The Calgary police did confirm re-VINing is “complex and often tied to organized crime.” Since VINs are linked to the driver’s registration, insurance, and other personal information, they recommend owners take steps to reduce the risk of being a victim of cloning. 

“Preventing access to documents and keys reduces opportunities for offenders to misuse VIN-related information and commit further crimes,” read the email statement. 

“If a vehicle is stolen or broken into, reporting the incident promptly is critical. Early reporting allows police to identify trends, target high-risk areas and disrupt offenders who often commit multiple offences over short periods.”

Putting weight on worsening recovery rates

In an email statement, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) credited the recent decline in auto theft, both nationally and in Alberta, to the combined efforts of the government and law enforcement. 

Namely, the Alberta RCMP Bait Vehicle Program uses GPS-monitored vehicles to catch in-progress thefts at high-risk locations. In the year since it took effect, the bait vehicles were used 29 times and assisted in the arrests of 22 people.

“The Alberta RCMP’s Crime Reduction Strategy tackles a very complex issue with a simple solution,” Supt. Michael McCauley of the Alberta RCMP said in a news release.

“By targeting the offenders that are causing the most harm to Albertans, while also focusing on the locations that are the most vulnerable.”

The program is an example of one of many initiatives aimed at alleviating the issue across Canada. As outlined by the National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft, launched in May 2024, the Canada Border Services Agency, Transport Canada, and Public Safety Canada join the RCMP as the top organizations working to reduce theft.

While the IBC praised the success of these actions in reducing auto theft incidents in several provinces, it emphasized that these efforts must be sustained to keep rates on a downward trajectory — especially in Alberta, where recovery rates are worsening.

“Auto theft disrupts lives and creates fear in communities across the province, with the province’s city centres being hit the hardest,” read the email statement.

“Criminal networks continue operating in communities across the province and are growing more brazen in their actions to steal vehicles.”

Alberta needs an insurance validation program, experts say

Press secretary for Alberta’s ministry of public safety and emergency services, Arthur Green, said that the provincial government has helped lessen auto theft by investing in hiring more front-line officers across various municipalities. 

Additionally, Green said that they have continued to fund the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT). Executed by the integrated labour of both city police and RCMP officers, the group focuses on dismantling various markets of organized and serious crime, including auto theft and fraud. 

“Auto theft is a serious issue tied to organized crime, and Alberta’s government is taking action,” he wrote in an email statement.

“Alberta will continue to focus on disrupting organized crime, strengthening police collaboration, and supporting long-term solutions that will prevent crime and make our communities safer.”

Last February, the province released its budget for the next three years. The fiscal plan states that a total of $1.5 billion will be allocated to public safety and emergency services, including $39 million toward improving policing, especially in rural communities. 

While the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service is named as receiving some of that funding, the document does not detail any monetary contributions toward ALERT or the development of an electronic insurance validation program — something that the IBC strongly recommended.

Secondary to the IBC’s advice that the province should invest in an auto theft team with dedicated prosecutorial support, which it has fulfilled, they said that “law enforcement must be provided with the tools to verify stolen or unregistered vehicles at the roadside,” read the email statement.

“Something that does not yet exist in Alberta.”

So far, the insurance validation program has been implemented by the governments of Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador and serves the dual purpose of confirming whether an automobile has the correct insurance coverage and whether the VIN matches the policyholder.

Despite the program not yet being adopted by the Alberta government, the IBC does offer an online service that allows consumers to check whether the VIN of a vehicle they are looking to purchase has been previously deemed non-repairable, which fraudsters sometimes do.