Spike in auto thefts in Fort St. John this year compared to 2024, RCMP warns

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Police officers in Fort St. John are urging local motorists to rethink how they leave their cars, vans and trucks amid a spike in vehicle theft reports.

According to a press release from the city’s RCMP detachment, from January 1st to March 31st, 2025, there were 47 reports of stolen vehicles and 40 reports of items taken from within vehicles in the city.

That’s a slight increase from the 36 items reported stolen from vehicles in the same time period last year, and a sharp increase from the 28 stolen vehicles.

April has been designated as Auto Crime Enforcement Month by the RCMP, provincial government and Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).

The three groups are urging vehicle owners to follow an acronym they’ve created, ‘RETHINK,’ in order to protect themselves from theft.

RETHINK stands for:

• Remove valuables
• Eliminate opportunities for thieves
• Track your car with GPS technology
• Hide your key signal
• Invest in anti-theft devices
• Never idle unattended
• Keep track of your keys

Jaime Moffat, the Fort St. John RCMP’s detachment commander, says auto theft is a crime of opportunity and taking simple steps like locking the doors, removing valuable items from inside the vehicle and always staying with the vehicle as it idles will lower the rate of theft.

Residents who want to learn more about how to protect themselves from auto theft are urged to visit BaitCar.com.