GPS Tracking

GPS Device Tracks Down ‘Sin Bad’

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Sherburne County investigators did not violate the Constitution when they attached a GPS tracker to a burglary suspect’s work vehicle and used it to track him to a burglary scene.

Deputies used the GPS tracking device to track the suspect, Sin Santo Bad, to a residential house as he was cleaning out a safe.

Sin Santo Bad was convicted of first-degree burglary and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Bad appealed the conviction, contending that placing the GPS tracker on a truck he used at work constituted an illegal search, and in direct violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Bad’s attorneys requested that the evidence investigators obtained after his arrest should be suppressed.

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Police Employ New Tactics to Combat Rampant Bike Thefts

Bike theft is a serious problem in Cambridge (UK). In 2010, the city was named the UK’s bike theft capital according to a report by the Cambridgeshire County Council. In 2007, it was reported that thieves stole  2,240 bikes in the city, increasing to 2,326 the following year, 2,597 in 2009 and 2,870 in 2010.

As a result of this growing issue, local law enforcement officials devised a series of tactics last year aimed at combatting this rampant problem. City police officers employed new crime-busting tactics including a new city centre police team, targeting criminals who sell them and trap bikes fitted with GPS tracking systems to deter and catch the culprits.

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Stolen Taxicab Tracked in Denver

A man was arrested in Denver, CO this past Wednesday after law enforcement officials said he stole a taxi, robbed a convenience store and then led police officers on a chase that ended when he crashed the cab into a tree in the Civic Center Park.

According to a local police report, the suspect stole an orange Union Taxi mini-van and then drove it to a Diamond Shamrock at around 1 a.m.

After robbing the convenience store, the suspect took off again in the stolen cab. The taxi was equipped with a GPS tracking device, which allowed police to track the precise location of the vehicle. The suspect led officers on a late-night chase, which ended with the cab going off the street and onto a sidewalk, where he then smashed in to a tree near downtown Denver.

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Tracking Burglars Through GPS

The City of Santa Fe, NM introduced a new system designed to track convicted burglars by utilizing GPS devices rather than putting them in jail. The Santa Fe Police began tracking the first offender last week. This new program will start with just five GPS tracking devices in order to gauge its effectiveness and ability to collect data.

According to a report from ABC News, Santa Fe Police Capt. Aric Wheeler, said the idea for the program originated as an alternative to repetitive incarceration, which can get pretty expensive for taxpayers. They also found that jail time did very little to deter these repeat offenders from committing more burglaries.

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GPS Helps Law Enforcement Recover Stolen Equipment

Charleston, West Virginia — A security officer was able to guide West Virginia State Troopers to some equipment stolen from a Campbells Creek gas well site with the help of an embedded GPS tracking device. John Casey, a security officer with Chesapeake Energy, contacted State Police Monday afternoon, December 19th, to report the equipment stolen from a gas well site in the Spring Fork area of Campbells Creek.

The security officer guided troopers by phone to a Little General store parking lot located in Malden. Casey was able to lead them to a vehicle holding the stolen equipment, which was outfitted with a GPS tracker.  (more…)

Economic Backbone at Risk

The term “retail” is one that has come to encompass a wide variety of business and economic avenues.  From small mom-and-pop shops to globally recognized names such as Walmart, the retail industry is one of the vital components of the United States’ economic infrastructure.  The fleet management divisions of any retail center rely on safe and secure transportation of goods at all points along the logistic and supply chain pipeline, including the distribution center, the store itself, the manufacturer, and movement between stores.  The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, recently released their seventh annual retail crime survey.  This report outlines the top 10 cities most prone to organized retail theft, and describes the implications on the global economic stage if this kind of crime is not addressed by law enforcement agencies. (more…)

At approximately 4:00 AM this morning, six heavily armed gunmen broke into a home in Perth, Australia wearing balaclavas and head torches. Detective Sergeant Nicole Winstone says that the robbers forced the homeowner at gunpoint to sign car transfer papers and hand over the keys to his 1967 Ford Mustang Shleby GT 350, valued at approximately $100,000. The victim’s partner was in the house during the heist as well; however, no one was hurt.

Fortunately, the savvy owner had recently purchased a top-of-the-line security system for his prized possession. Just three months earlier, he had purchased about $1,200 worth of equipment at Alberts Car Stereo. Alberts’ owner, Simon, says that he performed the installation. “It was an extremely rare car, which I thought was an odd choice of car to steal in the first place.” Covertly installed in the Mustang was a GPS tracking unit which includes a chip that sends a text message to the owner if the car is stolen. In this instance, however, no text message was necessary. The victim immediately called the police, who notified Alberts Car Stereo. The stolen Mustang was also equipped with an immobilizer that cuts off fuel from reaching the engine, allowing the car to cruise about 500m before coming to a complete stop. The security system company was thus able to shut the fuel off and immobilize the stolen vehicle accordingly.

Using the GPS tracking unit, the stolen Mustang was traced to an auto salvage business on White Street in the Bayswater area. In a matter of hours, authorities had blocked off both ends of the road and sent in a heavily armed Tactical Response Group to storm the property and raid the business. The Mustang was eventually found abandoned in the alley behind the building; however, the thieves were nowhere in sight.

Says Sergeant Winstone, “It looks as if the car has been dumped, however investigations are continuing into whether this was a planned dumping or whether it was a random dumping in Bayswater.”

The descriptions of the car robbers are still inexact, but the vehicle owner is still working with police. The vehicle is being forensically examined as well. The area around the salvage yard has now been reopened to public traffic.

It’s a Switch from Stealing Cars to Stealing Parts Off of Cars

Parts Are Not Tracked – Easier to Take

Some car thieves are no longer in the business of stealing cars.  Now, they are resorting to stealing parts off of cars for resale on the black market as demand dictates.

Car theft rings still operate in most major cities, but there is a faction that has opted for this latest iteration of making money from thievery.  Face it; stealing parts can be easier, and just as lucrative.  The law of supply and demand dictate which parts are hot and which to avoid.

For example, expensive items like air bags and infotainment systems are in demand.  While it may be difficult to get infotainment systems, airbags are not as difficult.  They are usually easier to get to because there is less around in the construction of a vehicle.

Other hot items that bring quick money are expensive wheels, DVD systems, roof racks (of all things!) and aftermarket GPS Navigation units.  The idea is that today’s’ thieves are opportunists and, that stealing the whole car is not the only way to make some good (albeit, illegal) money. (more…)

Everyone is familiar with tracking and navigation systems on boats: the radar and monitor systems one would find at the central controls along with the captain, who is a professional hauler, a fisherman or perhaps just a hobbyist.

It should come as no surprise then, that much of that equipment in the wheelhouse today is based on Global Positioning System technology. When a boater wants to know with certainty where he is going, where he has been and how the electrical and mechanical systems on the craft are fairing, he will look to GPS tracking (together with the boat’s own system controls) for those answers. When an owner wants his boat protected from theft, he relies on GPS tracking to watch over his considerable investment.

In maritime use, a live or real-time vehicle tracking system is the recommended solution. Real-time GPS tracking uses radio signals from satellites to determine the exact position of an object on earth: on land or water. If there is an incident of theft, the GPS tracking system will immediately show the owner -  visually on a map and in latitude and longitude coordinates -  where the boat is or where it has been taken. (more…)

Five years ago, if someone had declared that he knew the precise location of a remote vehicle and could tell where it was moving, second by second, that individual probably would have been labeled either a hoax, or a supernatural talent.

With changing times, the seemingly impossible is now possible. GPS tracking systems have become very well accepted among business owners and managers. They have become an invaluable tool in the corporate world because they uncover wasteful habits and activities, and increase productivity and profits. (more…)