An average of seven vehicles a day are stolen in Brampton and Mississauga, and many of them disappear without a trace, likely destined for the black market, according to Peel Regional Police.

Police say auto thefts are up 21 per cent this year, and there has been a corresponding drop in the number of those stolen vehicles police are able to recover.

“This leads us to believe that these vehicles are being targeted for profit on the black market. These vehicles could end up being shipped out of country, disassembled and sold for parts or ‘re-VINed’ and sold to unsuspecting used car purchasers,” says Peel spokesperson Sgt. Matt Bertram.

To the end of October, 2,485 vehicles had been stolen, compared to 2,051 in the same time period last year. This year’s number has already surpassed last year’s total of 2,484.

Bertram says police are aware of the growing “electronic theft” trend in which a thief overrides the systems of a vehicle equipped with push-button starting, but Peel does not have any statistics specific to those thefts. Electronic theft includes fob cloning and relay thefts, a technique whereby the signal from keys left a front door is magnified by a thief so it is strong enough to reach the vehicle and it can be opened and started.

In Toronto, police attributed an increase in auto thefts there to electronic thefts.

There have been two recent high-profile thefts in Brampton involving dogs left in running vehicles.

Both dogs were later recovered and returned to their owners.

Warm-up thefts have been a growing problem in Peel. In 2016 there were 88, and that number more than doubled in 2017 with 189.

Police recommend the following to protect your vehicle from theft: