By Greg Bartlett

As the holidays approach each year, churches and other groups begin to put up holiday displays that include nativity scenes, menorahs, and Santa Claus. Unfortunately, there are many people who take great delight in vandalizing these displays and stealing parts of them, the baby Jesus being the most popular part of the display to be stolen. The costs to these organizations go beyond the financial difficulty of having to replace the stolen items. They also include the difficulty of explaining to children that there are some people in the world would steal anything.

Many organizations are taking advantage of the advent of GPS technology to help cut down on the number of thefts. By placing a discreet GPS device inside the display item, organizations are able to set up a system that triggers a silent alarm as soon as the item begins to move. This signal can be quickly reported to the police, giving them the ability to tune in and track the item themselves. Recovery of the stolen display piece is normally very quick and an arrest is often made as the person is caught with the item in his possession.

Once word gets out that these displays are being protected by GPS tracking devices, the number of thefts tends to drop off dramatically. It seems that those who take such delight in vandalizing the displays set up by churches and schools are afraid of what can happen when they are caught, as a GPS system can almost guarantee that they will be. This makes GPS surveillance a very good deterrent to such thefts. Protecting the property of these non-profit organizations is so important that many security companies are willing to go so far as to donate these GPS tracking devices rent free for the duration of the display.

The benefits of GPS tracking have been proven repeatedly as a deterrent to vehicle thefts and a means to recover stolen vehicles. There are many other uses for GPS tracking including tracking assets and routing fleets of vehicles to make the most of fuel efficiency and provide the highest quality of customer service. GPS tracking is also used to track the movements of teenaged drivers and spouses suspected of infidelity. This technology has proven itself in so many different ways that insurance companies are now willing to offer discounts on the premiums they charge.

It is an unfortunate fact that people will steal anything under the sun, for little or no reason. This often includes parts of religious displays during the holiday season. Churches and schools lose items from their holiday displays every year to thieves resulting in the costs of replacement and the difficulty of explaining to children that some people have no conscience whatsoever. By making use of the proven technology with GPS tracking units, these organizations are now able to make speedy recovery of these stolen items and reduce the number of thefts incurred as people learn that they will be caught quickly if they vandalize these displays.