KANATA – Five luxury vehicles were stolen last night (Jan. 5) in the Bridlewood area leaving the Ottawa police with no clues.

“The Ottawa police reminds the community that the risk of thefts, and repeat thefts, of high-end Lexus and Toyota vehicles in Ottawa remains present, particularly with Tacoma and Highlander,” the Ottawa Police Service released in a statement today (Jan. 6). “There have been five luxury vehicle thefts overnight in Kanata (Bridlewood area). There is no suspect description available at this time.”

Anyone with information about the thefts in Kanata is asked to call the Ottawa Police West Criminal Investigations Section at 613-236-1222 ext. 2666. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca.

The OPS reminds car owners of the following tips to protect their vehicle:

• Make your vehicle less vulnerable to theft by parking it in a locked garage and or by blocking it in tightly with a second vehicle. Exterior lighting and video surveillance around the driveway can also serve as a deterrent.
• Consider installing an after-market electronic immobilizer device, which can interfere with the starting of the vehicle.
• Be vigilant that there is no damage to the door locks mechanisms, as this could be an indication that your car has been targeted.
• Consider protecting your vehicle with such devices as car alarms or steering wheel locking devices such as The Club.
• GPS tracking devices have become increasingly popular. Some even allow the vehicle owner to electronically “fence-in” their vehicle, whereby an alarm cue would occur if the vehicle were to leave the fenced-in area without authorisation.
• Locks to restrict access to the on-board diagnostic plug exist and when applied can impede a thief from re-programming a key.
• If you are selling your vehicle, be wary not to let anyone have access to your car keys and do not let your vehicle out of your sight. This prevents a thief from copying your key during a test drive so they can return to steal it.

“Finally, good old-fashioned neighbourhood watch is a great deterrent,” the OPS said. “Be vigilant and call 911 to report any suspicious vehicles in your neighbourhood.”

Most thefts occur between midnight and 5am in the morning.

“Investigators have not yet seen the use of signal amplifiers in Ottawa,” the OPS said. “In the event that this technology makes its way to Ottawa, a simple line of defense is to consider keeping any vehicle with a proximity key fob inside a radio frequency shield device (RFS device).  This will prevent the key fob’s signal from being amplified to the vehicle from inside the house, protecting it from being driven away.”

More safety tips are available online.