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Stiffer Penalties For Car Thieves

Young car thieves responsible for most of Winnipeg’s thefts are immune — for now, at least — from Ottawa’s plan to make auto theft its own offence with stiffer penalties. Introduced yesterday, proposed changes to the Criminal Code apply to adults but young offenders are in the federal government’s crosshairs. Conservative MP Shelly Glover, a former city police officer who represents St. Boniface, said there are plans to make similar changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

“I don’t know when but we are working towards it. They’re two different acts (the YCJA and Criminal Code) and we’re doing one at a time,” Glover said at a press conference at the Public Safety Building. If approved by MPs, the Criminal Code changes would create a new “theft of a motor vehicle” offence, carrying an automatic minimum six-month sentence for a third or subsequent conviction.

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Otawa Stiffer Penalties For Car Thieves