Gas-and-Dash Advocacy

Drive-off or “gas-and-dash” thefts continue to be a concern for Ontario’s police leaders. These crimes continue to contribute to injuries and even the deaths of service station employees and force police services across Ontario to allocate police resources to respond to these crimes, impacting their ability to respond to other community priorities.

The OACP has asked Chiefs of Police for their assistance in supporting our ongoing efforts to convince decision-makers at Queen’s Park to mandate the use of gasoline pumps equipped and activated with 24 hour per day prepayment technology.

In 2018, our Board of Directors passed the following resolution in response to growing concerns by police leaders of the serious public safety impact of gas thefts:

“The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police calls upon the Province of Ontario to develop legislation/regulation which mandates the use of gasoline pumps equipped and activated with 24 hour per day prepayment technology.”

Mandatory prepayment already exists in other provinces.  For example, British Columbia and Alberta have eliminated virtually all incidents and calls for service to the police relating to gas-and-dash thefts by enacting supportive legislation.  Ontario’s police leaders are urging the Government of Ontario to do the same. The OACP is supporting Bill 231 introduced by MPP Deepak Anand (Mississauga-Malton). The Protecting Ontarians by Enhancing Gas Station Safety to Prevent Gas and Dash Act would make prepayment mandatory. It would also provide new training to employees handling the sale of gasoline and give small, rural gas stations (many of which use older model pumps) time to switch to pre-pay pumps.