By Greg Bartlett
Police officers engage in fighting crime in a multitude of venues every day. One battle that must be fought on a continuous basis is the fight to prevent illegal drugs from being imported and sold across the nation. GPS tracking can help law enforcement officers discover drug hordes and track suppliers of illegal drugs, thereby aiding the fight against drug-related crime.
In one recent marijuana bust, police officers were able to locate thousands of plants by tracking sale of suspicious materials to the source of the drugs. By placing a GPS tracking device on the purchased goods, officers were led directly to the place where the plants were being grown. Officers have also used GPS tracking to follow the vehicles of suspected drug suppliers, thereby determining whether they were visiting people known to be involved in drug trafficking or whether they were making trips out of the country on a regular basis.
GPS tracking transmitters can be discreetly placed on a vehicle or box of goods and will then send a signal at specified intervals which allows for monitoring from a remote computer. Location can be viewed in real time or as a report of movement throughout the day. The devices can also relay information such as number of stops and the length of each one, speed of travel, and direction of travel. Activities that look suspicious can be followed up with other means of surveillance. In this way, law enforcement offices are able to make the best use of manpower and time. Assigning an officer to follow every criminal suspect can result in many lost hours as leads dry up or trails are lost. In a society where every officer needs to function as efficiently as possible, GPS tracking can ensure that departments are using each hour clocked to its fullest potential and that citizens are protected to the fullest possible measure.
Drugs aren’t just a problem for experimenting teenagers. They endanger lives on a daily basis, yet they still command a multi-million dollar industry. The best way for police departments to solve the problem and fulfill their job of protecting citizens is to locate the source of the drugs. GPS tracking makes this seemingly impossible job reachable. As more and more police departments understand the value of GPS tracking, the possibility of stopping crime before it starts can become more reality than fantasy.
