GPS Tracking

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When GPS Tracking emerged in the mid-90s onto farms, the application was limited:  yield mapping for crops.  Now about 15 years later, this technology has made significant in-roads into the way crops are planted which enhances crop yields even further.

To wit, implement manufacturers are now including the wiring and mounting spaces for GPS devices that are built specifically to hold these units.  Also, these units are performing important functions in the planting process that adds specificity heretofore not enjoyed by the farming community. (more…)

More than 150 years ago, the popular way for American politicians to get in touch with citizens and win votes was to go on a “whistle stop” train ride. It was an efficient way for a candidate to meet a multitude of people. As the train crossed the country on its established path, the candidate proudly waved to the crowd from the deck of the caboose.

William Henry Harrison was reportedly the first candidate for President of the United States to campaign by train, in 1840. In 2009, newly-elected U.S. President Barack Obama adopted the quaint tradition and rode a train to Washington for his inauguration.

In today’s digital age, a popular and efficient way to campaign is electric-powered gadgets: Cell phones, smartphones, the Internet and GPS tracking devices.

A politician in Maharashtra, India, National Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar, is heavily relying on GPS tracking technology for his re-election campaign.  Some politicians resist being tracked by vehicle tracking systems out of concern someone might misuse it to interfere in their personal lives. Pawar says he embraces GPS tracking because it keeps him accessible to his staff and constituents.

In India the citizenry’s interest in politics is fleeting and their time is a commodity, said the politician’s campaign manager Prakash Binsale. Campaign stops are very tightly-organized events. GPS tracking helps supporters: track where their candidate is at any given moment, calculate when he will arrive at a venue and make the necessary preparations. (more…)

Would U.S. lawmakers be better stewards of taxpayer money if they knew their activities were being followed with GPS tracking devices? After reading reports of lavish spending by elected officials in Scotland, the American public might agree.

Reporters from the Wall Street Journal tailed a dozen U.S. lawmakers throughout a five-day conference in Scotland and published the findings in the newspaper and on line Dec. 16. They observed the politicians on numerous occasions, mixing business with pleasure. Flagrant spending included free transportation by Air Force plane, a rented presidential suite in the hotel where they were booked, spa treatments, and dinners at the region’s finest restaurants. Wives went along too at the taxpayers’ expense.

The House members did legitimately meet with foreign dignitaries to discuss international security, as was the purpose of the trip. But after being wined and dined, eleven of the 12 U.S. politicians skipped out on the conference two days early, the article claims.

The biting report does nothing to dispel the long-standing belief that politics breeds corruption. (more…)

GPS tracking technology has once again proven that catching speeders with radar guns is “old school.”

In Bristol, UK, a man successfully beat a speeding ticket when he showed in court that the old-fashioned radar gun used by a traffic cop was off by more than 10 miles per hour. Gareth Powell was traveling on a highway in his company vehicle in November, 2008 and a police officer stopped him. The policeman said the radar checking his speed registered 61 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Powell said he was certain he hadn’t broken the law. He remembered that his company had outfitted all its vehicles with GPS tracking systems for better fleet management. High-quality vehicle tracking systems are incredibly accurate, because their readings are based on signals from satellites in space. GPS tracking technology was originally developed for the U.S. military, for use in training and conflict.

What’s good enough for Uncle Sam was also good enough in local traffic court. A check of the GPS tracking history log for the Ford van showed it traveling at 48 mph at the same spot on the highway.

The difference was drastic enough to warrant a case dismissal.

Why GPS Tracking Data Works in Court

This is yet another case proving that old-fashioned radar technology is inferior to GPS tracking technology. Ordinary citizens everywhere are challenging speeding tickets with the argument that police are using dated methods of documentation. Radar guns have to be calibrated frequently to ensure their accuracy. Some police still use human calculation, using a stopwatch and lines painted on the road.

It seems the key to victory in court is first proving the accuracy of GPS tracking readings, and, second, proving the defendant’s GPS speed reading was at the same time and place where the police officer is alleged to have captured his radar reading.

The UK’s Powell succeeded on both points. He brought his GPS tracking company’s director to court to speak as an expert witness. That GPS tracking specialist testified that the reading was good within three meters, about 10 feet in U.S. distance.

There are 24 satellites at work in the U.S. Department of Defense GPS tracking system. When a GPS tracking receiver gets a lock on three or more satellites, the reading is considered accurate. Powell’s location, time and speed were based on signals from eight satellites.

Is it time for police to adopt 21st century technology to catch speeding scofflaws? GPS tracking is far superior to radar.

Some GPS tracking devices take a “snapshot” of speed and location every few seconds; some every few minutes. In cases of speeding, it might be difficult to prove the accuracy of a GPS tracking device that monitors a vehicle with widely-spaced readings.

Active or Passive GPS Tracking?

For the purpose of beating speeding tickets, either an active or a passive GPS tracking system would suffice, because they both record a vehicle’s travel history. GPS tracking systems have extensive memory and/or storage capacity on a server. Hundreds of hours of movement can be kept securely for later review.

Many cellular phones have a GPS tracking features, but they often are not as reliable as independent GPS tracking devices. This is in part because they depend on the location of cell towers for their operation, and they do not have comparable memory capacity to store travel history or track in great detail.

Court Fights Take Time

The courts are beginning to accept GPS tracking data as valid evidence. But vindication from a speeding violation still takes time, because the wheels of justice turn slowly. The UK speeding case took nearly a year to make it to the judge’s bench.

In Sonoma County, CA, teenager Shaun Malone’s fight over a speeding ticket has stretched two years, going to trial and then appeal, and it cost his family thousands of dollars. In his case, a policeman using a radar gun clocked him going 62 mph in a 45 mph zone. The vehicle tracking device Malone’s parents had installed in his car for teen tracking recorded him driving at 45 mph.

Source: RoadTransport.com

Massachusetts High Court Says Warrant First, GPS Tracking Next

A Cape Cod man who challenged police over their right to track him with GPS vehicle tracking technologies, has lost his appeal before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He is back in jail facing a 10- to 12-year prison term for trafficking and distributing cocaine.

In September, the state’s highest court upheld the conviction of Everett Connolly, in a highly-publicized and potentially precedent-setting case about GPS tracking.

In Commonwealth vs. Everett Connolly, police suspected that Connolly was dealing drugs, so they obtained a warrant and placed a vehicle tracking device inside his minivan while it was parked at his apartment. Not knowing his vehicle was being secretly tracked by police, Connolly made a trip to New York for an alleged drug buy. Police followed him remotely on the real-time GPS tracking device and when he returned to Massachusetts, police stopped him on a highway, seized the van and found a significant amount of cocaine (124 grams). He was convicted in 2006, but Connolly appealed on the grounds that the warrant the police used to plant the vehicle tracking device was not valid.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the police in this case did legally track the subject using a vehicle tracking device. It concluded that police could even enter into a private citizen’s vehicle or break into it if covert placement of the vehicle tracking device was necessary for an investigative purpose. The only catch: a warrant is needed. The Supreme Court also pointed out that individuals should be protected from excessive or constant government monitoring. A 15-day limit was put on warranted GPS tracking. Regular search warrants expire after seven days.

While investigating the Connolly appeal, My FOX 25 News Boston, interviewed Steven Moehling, Vice President of Sales for LandAirSea Systems Inc. in Woodstock, IL. about the advances in GPS tracking technology; and the station road tested the vehicle tracking system manufacturer’s GPS Tracking Key, the company’s most popular vehicle tracking device, in a news segment.

Following the outcome of the Massachusetts case, Moehling concludes that great strides are being made in the criminal justice system. Massachusetts is the latest of three states setting precedent on the use of GPS tracking in law enforcement. Vehicle tracking, Moehling believes, is proving itself in legal circles as sound evidence in law enforcement investigations.

“The recent case of Commonwealth vs. Connolly addresses the legality of placing the GPS device without a warrant, but does not question the validity of the GPS information. This is because the criticism of GPS tracking reliability in the courtroom has been unsuccessfully challenged in several precedent-setting cases. As a manufacturer, we are pleased with the validation the courts extend to GPS tracking technology. In regards to the warrant requirements addressed in this case, I believe this to be a state’s rights issue and should be addressed as such.”

GPS tracking laws vary from state to state, based on local interpretations of the probable cause standard.

Just last May, two different states of appeals found on opposite sides of the issue. In New York, justices voted for GPS tracking similar to the case in Massachusetts. It said a warrant was needed for GPS tracking. In Wisconsin the high court said a warrant is not needed for police to legally use GPS vehicle tracking.

Where Debate is Headed

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against “unreasonable search and seizure.”

It is generally accepted by the courts that when police secretly plant a vehicle tracking device on a car, it is not an invasion of privacy, as long as the vehicle was parked in the open when the vehicle tracking device was placed on it and the vehicle is being tracked in a public place, where law enforcement has a right to be. Courts view GPS-based vehicle tracking as a modern, high-tech substitute for physically following a car or monitoring its travels with safety cameras.

Regarding unlawful seizure, there is disagreement. Some courts have concluded that placing a vehicle tracking device on a vehicle does not qualify as seizure, because the vehicle tracking device does not deprive the vehicle owner use of his property.

Others, like the Massachusetts court, believe covert GPS tracking is a seizure, because police use private property, in this case a vehicle, to obtain information for their own purposes.

LandAirSea’s Moehling takes no side on the issue, but feels it is important for state courts to set rules about how police can monitor suspects with GPS tracking devices. The warrant seems to be a key issue in law enforcement’s lawful use of GPS tracking. Does that mean adequate proof must be provided to a judge and a warrant obtained before the vehicle tracking device is placed? The issue remains a “slippery slope.”

GPS tracking has passed a litmus test, moving from suspected “junk” technology to a proven, police investigative tool. What is yet to be determined is the fair and delicate balance between police evidence-seeking and personal intrusion.

Source: The Boston Globe

Vehicle Tracking Device was Key to Conviction

CHENANGO COUNTY, N.Y. – A New York man was sentenced June 11 to 25 years to life in prison for the second-degree murder of his former babysitter, who he ran over with his truck.

George Ford Jr., a contractor from Piscataway, N.J. who has a seasonal residence in South Otselic, had insisted that he accidentally killed 12-year-old Shyanne Somers on July 8, 2007, while returning her home from a babysitting job. But evidence uncovered from a Global Positioning System vehicle tracking device inside the truck contradicted his telling of events.

Ford was convicted of the crime Feb. 19, 2009 by a Chenango County Court judge.

“This might be the first murder trial in the nation where charges hinged so heavily on GPS evidence,” said Steven Moehling, Vice President of Sales at LandAirSea Systems in Woodstock, IL. A LandAirSea GPS Tracking Key® vehicle tracking device was operating in Ford’s truck and documenting the vehicle’s location as the murder occurred. The vehicle tracking device was placed there by Ford’s wife, Cindy, because she suspected that her husband was having an affair. Moehling testified at the trial about the company’s GPS Tracking Key®, interpreting the data collected on the device the night of the murder, and speaking on the accuracy of its readings.

GPS tracking systems record the time, speed and geographic position of a receiver at regular intervals. Location is determined by the capture of radio signals from Department of the Defense satellites orbiting the earth. In passive systems such as the GPS Tracking Key®, the user later retrieves the vehicle tracking receiver and downloads the data stored on it for viewing on a personal computer. (more…)

Are Laws Keeping Pace With Science?

Under what circumstances can a police officer slap a global positioning system (GPS) Tracking device on your car to gather evidence against you in a legal matter?

To what lengths can an authority figure go, to hide a high-tech vehicle tracking device on your personal property?

If you’re looking to the courts for a legal opinion about GPS tracking, keep looking. Two states recently addressed the issue in court, but ended up with very different, if not opposite, results.

Courts Conflict on Legality

Both considered government placement of GPS tracking devices, specifically, in what cases the action would be unjustified and an intrusion. At the heart of the matter is whether vehicle tracking units can be installed on private vehicles without a warrant. A warrant is a court-approved search in which officers specify the reasons behind the surveillance or search. It details the place to be searched and the person, things or information that is sought. (more…)

WOODSTOCK, IL (May 12, 2009)  – Designers, manufacturers and distributors of Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices are lauding a Wisconsin court ruling of last week, because it will likely result in their technology being used more frequently, and perhaps with less hesitation, by law enforcement agencies.

The District 4 Court of Appeals in Madison, Wis. concluded that police do not need to obtain a warrant in order to place a GPS tracking unit on the outside of someone’s vehicle. Judge Paul Lundsten said in a statement that GPS tracking is not unreasonable search and seizure and that it didn’t violate privacy rights any more than regular visual surveillance.

The court, however did see the potential for abuse and followed the ruling with a request that state lawmakers pass laws detailing how and when GPS tracking crosses the line.

The case was prompted by a 41-year-old Madison man named Michael Sveum who was accused of stalking a woman. Police did get a warrant and secretly mounted a vehicle tracking device on Sveum’s car while it was parked in his driveway. After five weeks, police retrieved the device and also got a second warrant to search Sveum’s house. He was later arrested. (more…)

When a consumer is researching Global Positioning System (GPS tracking) technology, the question of legality often is raised. Can drivers’ whereabouts be logged without notification? If they are notified, is their consent required?

The laws on vehicle tracking might differ from state to state, and so might any individual’s interpretation of them. The majority of companies selling vehicle tracking systems advise that the buyer seek legal counsel and/or consult local authorities about the devices. Ultimately, the user is responsible for its appropriate use.

Under most circumstances, GPS tracking is permitted with the consent of the vehicle’s registered owner. This covers two of the most common scenarios for using GPS tracking systems: In small businesses and private households.

Business and fleet management

Companies lose money each year due to poor productivity. Anyone who has ever managed a workplace will agree that people find ways to make company rules and policies work more to their advantage.

Executives are getting serious about uncovering policy-abusers, and they feel more comfortable when they have GPS data as evidence against lawsuits or investigations that result from a termination, reported the “2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey,” (conducted by the American Management Association and the ePolicy Institute.)
(more…)

GPS tracking devices.  They’re becoming as commonplace in our surveillance society as the mobile phone and almost as multi-functional.  And probably the most popular and most affordable spinoff of satellite technology is the GPS Tracking Key.

For newcomers to this science fictional phenomenon, GPS stands for Global Positioning System.  It is a satellite-based navigation system comprised of 24 satellites that have been positioned in orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense.  The GPS Tracking Key is a compact unit that runs on two AAA batteries and is used primarily to track the whereabouts of vehicles.

“The GPS Tracking Key Saves The Day Once Again!” (more…)