“24- Friday, October 18, 1991 ~ North Shore News

Canada ranks high in vehicle vandalism

WHETHER THEY'RE delivering
life’s necessities to businesses,
stores or homes, moving us to and
from work, or putting us on the
road for pleasure, motor vehicles
are vital components in our lives.
They have also become central to
a whole structure of criminal ac-
tivity.

Canadians owned about 16.7
million motor vehicles in 1989 and
more than 100,000 of them were
stolen, Statistics Canada figures
show. There were some 319,000
incidents of theft from a vehicle
—— involving parts, accessories or
contents.

In most cases, individual owners
are compensated by their in-
surance plan when vehicle theft or
damage is involved, and the popu-
lar perception may be that there
are few big losers. But the real
economic cost involved with vehi-

Music revue will benefit
council efforts

local arts

IN THESE days of Phantom of
the Opera mania, smaller artistic
companies are feeling the pinch.

They simply can’t compete with
multi-million dollar spectacles like

Cats or Lloyd Webber’s Aspects .

of Love, particularly in a troubled
economy. As a result, they rely
more and more on government
grants and private fundraising.

In North Vancouver, many ail-
ing artists receive assistance from
the North Vancouver Community
Arts Council, a body that survives
on donations itself.

Not only does the arts council
support and introduce new artists
to the community, it’s also been
involved with urban redesign. And
through its TV show, Arts Access,
it’s happily spreading the news
about the vast richness of arts on
the North Shore. .

. Chances are the last community
concert, play or art exhibit you

cles and crime is anything but
small.

The estimated average cost
where the vehicle was stolen was
$7,602. Where there was theft
from a vehicle, estimated average
cost was $966. Average damage to
a stolen vehicle was $1,345. Com-
bining motor vehicle theft, thefts
from vehicles and vehicle van-
dalism, the estimate for total eco-
nomic cost in 1987 was a hefty
$700 million.

In contrast, the loss in all the
bank robberies in
amounts to about $3.3 million a
year, according to the Insurance
Bureau of Canada.

Police report four main reasons
why vehicles are stolen: for resale
or export; to be stripped for parts:
for unauthorized joyriding; and to
collect insurance fraudulently.
Based on average figures from
1980 to 1989, one in four cars

saw received help from the arts
council in one way or the other.

That’s why it’s important that
as many people as possible attend
the Jukebox Saturday Night con-
cert, featuring Hot Air, at
Delbrook Community Centre gym
this Saturday (Oct. 19).

The money raised through ticket
sales ($20 each) will enable the
arts council to continue providing
grants for many artistic endeavors
on the North Shore.

Jukebox Saturday Night is a
music revue of the 1940s, ’50s and
’60s. Hot Air, a troupe of 20
performer“, iravel through musical
time from the 1940s to the pres-
ent,

Organizers have a total of 450
tickets to sell and they’re hoping
to get a good turnout, particularly

from the local business communi-.

ty.
Tickets are available at
door.

the

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the country:

stolen disappears and is never re-
covered. This proportion of
unrecovered stolen vehictes in
Canada has been rising, from
19% in 1980 to 26% in 1989.

By a wide margin, Quebec top-
ped all provinces for vehicle theft
in 1988, the latest year for which
such comparisons are available.
Quebec had 7.5 thefts for every
1,000 registrations. Manitoba
(6.2), British Columbia (5.7) and
Alberta (5.6) were close to the na-
tional average of 5.5. Below were
Saskatchewan (4.8), Ontario (4.7),
New Brunswick (3.0), Nova Scotia
(2.8), Prince Edward Isiand (2.6)
and Newfoundland (1.7).

The 1989 figures demonstrate
that motor vehicle theft is a crime
generally involving young pergons.
Among those accused of vehicle
theft, 80% were age 12 to 25. The
biggest single segment was the
18-to-25 age bracket, with 44% of
all accused.

An_ international comparison
shows that among 14 western in-
dustrialized countries in 1989,
Canada ranked No. 1 in vehicle
vandalism with 11% of all owners
becoming victims. In contrast, the
United States was in sixth spot
with a vandalism rate cf 9.3%.

Canada was third at 8.1% in
thefts from vehicles, behiad Spain
(14.6%) and the U.S. (9.7%). But
we were also way back in 10th
place for vehicie theft at less chan
1%, France held top spo: for
vehicle theft with 2.8%, the U.S.
was fifth with 2.2%.

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These intense workouts in-
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