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By Greg Bartlett

On the night of February 10, 2010, a robbery and kidnapping in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was foiled by the GPS tracking capabilities of a cell phone.

But how does this work? Since the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the US government has required that cell phone providers be able to provide GPS tracking technology in emergency situations. Giving law enforcement officers access to the location of an emergency phone call could allow them to quickly recover kidnapping victims as well as respond more quickly to many other emergency situations. Although cell phones are now required to have tracking capabilities, this is only for emergency use. Some cell phone providers do have GPS plans, but as a whole, these are not as accurate as traditional real time and passive GPS trackers.

GPS Helps Find Victims

Cell phone GPS has many weaknesses in addition to their inaccuracy. They rely on the cell phone battery for power. With all of the other things phones these days can do, cell phone batteries can quickly wear down. Also, the signal that is sent from the cell phone is a weaker signal and relies on the cell phone towers to pick it up. Traditional GPS devices broadcast to satellites, which are much more reliable. There are many places that a cell phone has very little or no signal, which takes away the protection of the GPS tracker as well.

On the evening of February 10 and the morning of the 11th, Alvin Robinson, who played professional football for the Sioux Falls Storm, part of the United Indoor Football League, allegedly kidnapped two of his drinking buddies. He claimed that he had a gun and forced the men to go with him to an ATM. Without Robinson noticing, one of the kidnapped men pulled out his cell phone, dialed 911, and left the phone open so that the operator could hear what was taking place in the vehicle. When the operator heard the word “robbery”, the law enforcement officers were notified and Robinson was arrested.

Thanks to a GPS tracking device and the quick thinking of one of the kidnapped men, the police were notified and were able to stop the robbery from taking place. Law enforcement officers have also been able to use GPS trackers (both cell phone and vehicle trackers) in cases of drug trafficking, stolen items, and harassment. GPS tracking systems have been a huge asset to law enforcement officers around the world as they try to keep the citizens of their communities safe.