ICBC adds commercial vehicles to its ‘bait’ vehicle fleet

ICBC has added commercial vehicles to its ‘bait’ vehicle fleet, including construction equipment and working commercial vans.

Bait cars are used by the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT) to lure thefts. A bait car is a vehicle owned by the police and is intended to be stolen, IMPACT says. After a bait car is stolen, the location, speed, and direction of travel of the vehicle is monitored by police dispatchers at E-Comm through GPS tracking.

The latest addition to the fleet is in response to an ongoing commercial vehicle theft problem, an ICBC release says.

“Our Bait Car Program is a recognized leader among jurisdictions, and I am very proud of the dramatic decline in auto crime we’ve achieved over the past 10 years,” said Shirley Bond, minister of justice and attorney general.

“We’ve actually caught 77 of the 80 most wanted car thieves in that time. Adding commercial vehicles to the fleet is our latest strategy to keep current with auto crime trends and to protect not just B.C. families’ property but also their livelihood.”