GPS Tracking

In order to protect one’s assets and rein in insurance costs, it is often necessary to outsmart a would-be thief. This could not be more true in the case of armored cars, known by some as the “cash transport industry,” one of the most vulnerable privately-run businesses imaginable, with a huge potential for loss.
Armed guards and an impenetrable bulletproof outer shell on the vehicle were the earliest attempts at safety for the armored car.  This has been true for about a century. But to be sure, they are not the only precautionary measures.

What security steps are taken in armored cars today, to protect their precious cargo? You might be surprised at the innovative ways we are securing our “money in transit.” GPS tracking devices are part of the arsenal.

Paul Jaworski, a Polish-American immigrant, masterminded the first successful armored  car robbery in 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jaworski’s gang buried an explosive in a dirt road and detonated it under the vehicle. They made off with about $100,000.

Jaworski would not be so lucky today, given the state of technology. It’s very difficult to pull off an armored car robbery. The FBI says only about 40 robberies from armored cars occur each year. Comparatively, there are about 7,000 robberies a year of financial institutions. (more…)

A northwest Ohio woman returned to a grave site one too many times, to pilfer mementos. A vehicle tracking device tucked neatly inside a toy car and placed near a tombstone led police to her stash of stolen goods.

Sandra Lilly discovered that items she placed on the grave of her 18-year-old son in Williamstown Cemetery had been taken, so she called police. Police took the report, commenting that the same crime had apparently occurred to other grieving families.

Grant County Sheriff Chuck Dills gave the mother a vehicle tracking device. Vehicle tracking devices are GPS tracking receivers, usually placed in cars and trucks. Real-time vehicle tracking systems allow a user to pinpoint an object’s exact location, from a remote computer.

In this case, the GPS tracking unit worked on a mini version of a car. The mother hid it inside the box of a toy muscle car Camaro, then placed it on her son Josh’s grave. The thief took the bait, not knowing that there was a vehicle tracking device attached. The police chief got the report and found out where the stolen toy car was, following it on a map from his laptop.

The GPS tracking device was found inside a minivan owned by 48-year-old Kimberly Goodrich. The vehicle was full of other items that appeared to be stolen from the cemetery. Goodrich was on probation from a theft in Boone County, Ohio.

GPS tracking devices come in two versions: passive vehicle tracking logs an object’s movements for later download and review; and real-time vehicle tracking lets the viewer see where the receiver is minute by minute, almost as it happens. Real-Time GPS tracking is best for theft recovery.

As GPS tracking hardware is becoming smaller, lighter and less costly, consumers are thinking of new ways to use them besides vehicle tracking. Protecting assets other than cars and trucks from theft, is a quickly growing application. Vehicle tracking products have been placed on cargo shipments, furniture, artwork and all sorts of recreational vehicles.

GPS tracking systems are really becoming quite common, said Sheriff Dills. He said that if a thief takes something that doesn’t belong to him, there’s a good chance someone will be sitting at a desk on their computer, or a Web-enabled cell phone, trying to find it with GPS tracking.

Source: Breitbart.tv

Tiny GPS Tracking Unit in Loot Leads Police to Money

ROGERS, AK — “Following the money trail” is taking on a new meaning in law enforcement.

Along with traditional dye packs, banks are increasingly stashing GPS tracking devices in bags of loot, when they are surrendered in armed robberies.

The unsuspecting robber usually gets tracked in a brief amount of time, as police follow the signal emitted by the high-tech gadget, straight to the cash.

Recently in Rogers, Arkansas, a crime spree turned into a string of bad luck and probably a long jail sentence. On July 3, bank employees at First Federal Bank on West Hudson Road reported that a masked man entered the bank with a handgun at about 3:15 p.m. He apparently did not case out the building prior to the crime, because he seemed not to anticipate a line of bullet-proof glass separating bank employees from the public.

According to the police report, the man waved his pistol and demanded that tellers open a door at the counter. But they refused and hid behind their protective shield. The would-be robber fled frustrated and empty handed.

A second robbery followed at a second bank. But the suspect got more than he bargained for.

At 4:07, police reported, a man with the same physical description and method of operation robbed the Bank of the Ozarks on North 47th Street. Bank personnel said he drove away in a tan Chevy Impala, with more than $2,000.

Fortunately, a bank teller also slipped a real-time GPS tracking device in the goodie bag.

GPS tracking devices are very common for automobile tracking and navigation. In the bank heist, the same technology was used. Signals from satellites determine the location of the GPS tracking receiver. The receiver transmits the data through a wireless network and someone on the other end can read it from a remote computer or on an Internet-enabled handheld.

Police tracked the GPS tracking device to South 38th Street, near Amour Drive. A tan Chevy Impala was discovered inside a nearby garage. Anthony Timothy Barnes, 31, was arrested after he came out of the house.

Barnes faces one count of theft and two counts of aggravated robbery. He could be jailed from 10 to 40 years if found guilty of any of the charges.

If satellite technology had been in existence 75 years ago, notorious bank robbers like Bonnie and Clyde might have gotten a more serious run for their money!

Originally developed by the United States Department of Defense for such military applications as navigation, target tracking, and searches and rescues,  GPS tracking systems have been heralded as the new method with which to fight crime and ensure public safety.  They are increasingly finding their way into America’s courtrooms as an effective means of producing certain evidence that was not available even ten years ago.

Global positioning systems (GPS) are able to identify a suspect’s physical location using the numerous satellites that orbit the earth.  Offenders wearing GPS tracking devices enable law enforcement officials to track the whereabouts and movements of these offenders almost second by second.

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