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By Greg Bartlett

Auto theft is of concern to any car owner. Our cars are the second largest single purchase we will make, and need to be protected. One way of combating the staggering numbers of auto theft is to install a GPS tracking system in your vehicle.

GPS systems work by transmitting a signal to a reporting centre. There are two types of GPS devices currently available for vehicle tracking: data pushing and data pulling systems. Data pushing systems report the position of your vehicle at regular intervals. Data pullers, on the other hand, have to be activated remotely and can send their location as requested. You can think of the two systems like this, pushers are like a steady flashing light, while pullers can be flipped on and off repeatedly as needed. Both systems send data to centralized location that can then be relayed to police services as needed.

Auto theft has been on the decline in Canada since 1996, but still accounted for one of the most active criminal activities in 2007. That year there were 146, 000 police reported cases of auto theft, a decrease of 9% from the previous year. Of cars stolen in Canada 63.6% are recovered and returned to the owner. GPS can help to improve this number and speed up the process of recovery, which would lead to fewer damages to the automobile2.

Currently there are no solid statistics for auto recovery rates when real time gps vehicle tracking is used, however the similar technology Lojack has a reported recovery rate of 90%3. LoJack operates by broadcasting an FM signal directly to receivers that many jurisdictions have installed in police cars.

Police services can only benefit from greater inclusion of these types of vehicle tracking devices, as stolen cars can often lead to perpetrators of more serious crimes. In Canada, police report an 11% rate of closure on cases involving vehicle theft. The recovery rate is so much higher, because most cars are stolen by young offenders out for a joy ride. With GPS, police would be able to more quickly close in on the vehicle which would in turn improve the likelihood of apprehending the perpetrator.

Widespread use of GPS could also prevent the average 40 deaths and 65 injuries annually that are directly related to auto theft. Police could follow a stolen vehicle from a safe distance, improving public safety by allowing police to avoid high speed pursuits.

GPS auto tracking systems tend to be value packed gadgets. They offer maps and navigation services, as well as local business listings (this depends on feature set of model), as well as providing tracking service. Just in saved time alone, these devices can pay for themselves very quickly.