Here's how to beef up the security on your vehicle

With criminals using technology to steal cars, owners are modifying their vehicles to help prevent theft with tracking devices and immobilizers, which can stop a thief in their tracks.

It’s the loud and blaring sound, no car thief wants to hear.

"And once he gets in the vehicle, the vehicle does not start…a lot of noise, it won’t move, it won’t start," says Aidan Derouchie of Derand Motorsports.

The Ottawa business installs devices wired directly into your car, which Derand says not only immobilize the car, but also alerts the owner of an attempted theft on devices such as a smart watch.

"It notifies me immediately," customer Shamim Arefin tells CTV News Ottawa.

Arefin had the technology installed in his Lexus. It’s an SUV he loves, but so do the criminals.

"I was afraid and at some point I became paranoid, like what should I do with my car?" he says.

With reports of cars stolen from his neighbourhood on an east Ottawa Facebook group, he had an immobilizer, alarm, and GPS tracker installed in his car,

"Now I’m feeling so much more confident that if I go to a mall or anywhere my car will be secure."

It is equipment that Derouchie says is more secure than what comes standard with the car.

"Previous to May, we were doing one to two a month. Now, just a couple weeks ago, we actually did 10 in one week, and were continually going up from there," he says.

"All of the products that are on the market basically help prevent it from getting stolen."

Derouchie says systems start at $699, but can go as high as $2,600. While he says nothing is 100 per cent thief-proof, it’s all about creating layers of security.

"We call it a layered approach; the more that you can do to make it more difficult and have the criminals need to spend more time,” says Bryan Gast, Equite Association, vice-president investigative services.

“2022 was a bad year for vehicle theft in Canada, in Ontario in particular. In 2023, so far, is proving to be just as problematic - if not worse," Gast says.

Arefin says his investment in the technology makes him "feel so much more relaxed now and confident."

Derouchie says Derand Motorsports offer theft deterrents designed to help stop thieves from targeting vehicles, which include: 

• Glass breakage sensors 
• Door opening alarms
• Engine Bypass and engine disable devices
• OBD lock ports 
• Immobilizer devices
• Steering wheel locks 
• GPS tracking systems 
• Tilt sensors 
• Jeep Wrangler hood locks
• Key fob battery deactivators
• Catalytic converter locks
• 2-way communication to your smartphone and your remotes 
• Factory horn/siren relocation