By Greg Bartlett

Police have seen a lot of things during their time on the police force, and one thing they’ve noticed repeatedly is that criminals aren’t always smart. Sometimes they do things which almost guarantee that they’ll get captured.

Take the family in Colorado, for instance. Police had been trying to get this family for years, knowing that they stole frequently, but never having enough proof. However, recently they broke into a car and stole some valuables, including an iPhone. The iPhone’s 15-year-old owner used his computer to activate the GPS tracking feature and locate the thieves, and when he called the police, they knew they finally had the proof they needed. The stolen items were returned, along with some other phones and valuables that had been stolen from other cars.

Or there are the bank robbers who get a GPS tracking device along with the money they steal, which allow police to monitor their every move. A bank robber in Arkansas was arrested when the GPS device led police to his home, while other bank robbers have been arrested just a few minutes after a robbery.

If a particular town has a high percentage of auto thefts, the local police department can decide to use a bait car equipped with GPS vehicle tracking. Sure enough, a car thief picks the baited car to steal, which means that the police department knew the moment the car was moved. The police could choose to have the GPS device shut down the car remotely and lock the thief inside, or they could simply follow the thief to his home, where they may find a couple other stolen vehicles.

Sometimes the police have to deal with recovering stolen pets. An expensive breed, but someone’s pet more than a breeding or show dog, manages to escape its yard. Fortunately, since it was wearing a GPS device on its collar, the owner was alerted at once. But by the time the owner got off work and came home, someone had picked up the wandering pet, apparently intending to sell it. The GPS tracking device, however, told the owner that the dog was going too fast to be on its own, so he called the police and they followed the dog straight to where it was taken by the thief.

It’s funny sometimes how stupid criminals can be. Stealing items with GPS tracking is basically asking to be caught. But at least they make the police department’s job easy.