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Britain: GPS Tracking Of Stolen Vehicles Put To The Test

May 18th, 2013

GPS tracking devices have been relied upon by many private investigators for a long time. They are effective in locating just about anything all over the world, especially expensive items like iPhones and cars.

Over in the UK, the Telegraph reported recently on a CCTV video released by the West Midlands Police showing two men stealing a BMW 118D from a hotel parking lot in Ladywood, Birmingham in under 15 seconds. This certainly shows the merits of a GPS tracking device when it comes to recovering your stolen car. The two men, brothers, stole a total of 13 cars over the period of 20 days, a combined value of about £250,000. The GPS tracking device, very well hidden on the BMW, directed police right to the garage attached to the brothers’ house in Brierley Hill’s Old Bush Industrial estate in Birmingham.

The brothers were sentenced to four years in prison for conspiracy to steal motor vehicles at Birmingham Crown Court.

GPS: Recovering Cars Quickly and Easily

Investigating officer DC Matt Dyer of the West Midlands Police said, “This was an organized, sophisticated operation with high performance cars being stolen in less than 60 seconds. Their method of entry was somewhat rudimentary, but once inside they clearly demonstrated technical skill to start the engine very quickly.

“Our investigation led us to recover all but one of the cars they stole. Car theft is a very risky business given that so many are now fitted with (GPS) tracker devices and that our road network is covered extensively by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras which allow us to monitor vehicle movement.”

Private Investigator Agrees

Private Investigator, an independent detective agency out of Birmingham, also relies on GPS tracking devices. They also turn to the devices in cases where one spouse is said to be cheating on the other to see where it is they are going. As soon as the device is affixed to the vehicle, tracking can begin. The use of tracking devices on the vehicles stolen by the brothers allowed the owners to be reunited with their property.

Says Kristy George, spokeswoman for Private Investigator: “In my professional opinion these brothers were lucky to have stolen as many cars as they did with all the crime prevention modern technology available. An expensive vehicle like a BMW should be fitted with a GPS tracker for the owner’s peace of mind.”

St. Louis: Homicide Victim’s Car Located With GPS

February 18th, 2013

Friends and relatives gathered at the funeral of Ebony Jackson, found shot to death in the trunk of her own car in St. Louis in late January. This discovery was made four days after authorities found her baby abandoned in Brekenridge Hills. Authorities relied on the GPS device installed in her car from the dealership which is usually used to track down the vehicles of those who aren’t making their car payments.

30-year-old Jackson’s three-month-old son, Donavon Prom, was discovered in his car seat in the hallway of a Breckenridge Hills apartment complex by a resident on his way to work, four days prior to the discovery of her body. Authorities obtained a court order to gain access to the information collected by the GPS device, and tracked it to the parking lot of the apartment complex that family says she has no connection to whatsoever. Her cousin, Jessie Mosley, said “It’s just totally out of character for her to be in a neighborhood like this. Even the car being in a neighborhood like this.” The rear license plate had been removed.

The one thing the GPS tracking device did not reveal: Jackon’s body was in the trunk of her own car. Autopsy later revealed a single gunshot wound behind her ear was the cause of death. No one has been arrested in connection with the case.

Many ministers spoke at Jackson’s funeral. One of them, Rev. Kevin Jacques of Gregg Chapel AME Church in St. Louis said that he prays that “whoever committed this senseless act comes to justice.”

Investigators are still hard at work trying to find her killer. They still have yet to determine where she was killed, and whether she had been in the area on her own accord or brought there after the murder. One thing is certain: there are many unanswered questions, and many people who are looking to answer them for the baby boy that initiated the whole investigation.

Macungie, PA: Green Light to Install GPS in Police Cars

February 15th, 2013

In a controversial move, the Macungie Council voted in favor of installing GPS tracking devices on all borough police cars. Mayor Rick Hoffman brought the issue to the table despite the fact it was not included on the meeting agenda. He snuck it into the “Mayor’s Report” part of the meeting, and it has the borough talking.

The vote itself was split, initiated by Councilwoman Linn Walker, and seconded by Councilman Gregory Hutchison. Besides these two members, two others voted in favor, one being Council President Jean Nagle. One member voted against the idea, and two other councilmen were not able to attend the meeting. The person who voted against it did so because she wanted to first consult her original notes on the issue back in April before her vote, assuring she completely understood the issue.

Back in April of 2012, the council voted against the idea of outfitting the police cars with the GPS devices. The reason then: too high of a cost. The proposed two-year contract would have cost thousands of dollars for installation, use, and maintenance. So why did they change their minds?

The contract is now for only a year, and Mayor Hoffman himself said he’s raised all of the funds necessary – all $1,408 – in the form of donations. Walmart donated $1,000 towards the GPS devices with the remaining money being donated by individuals.

Only Hoffman and Macungie Police Chief Edward Harry will be able to monitor the GPS devices, and only those two individuals will know the password to access the data. However, some members of the community wondered just how secure the system really would be as the units can be monitored from any computer or smartphone.

The bigger question is why Hoffman feels it necessary to know the whereabouts of the police in the first place. Hoffman claims that he receives numerous reports about officers either parked for long periods of time in parking lots as well as traveling at a high rate of speed, and wants a way to verify if these allegations are true or not. A councilwoman pointed out that there is not a single documented complaint about any Macungie officer, but Hoffman said that’s because residents fear retaliation from the police so they keep it anonymous.

A resident stood at one point to protest the idea during the time allotted for public comment, but the mayor responded with statements such as “I am the chief” and “I am in charge.” Many residents feel that the mayor is going too far, pointing out that if the mayor were so powerful, the council wouldn’t have to vote in the first place.

As for Chief Harry, he doesn’t mind the GPS devices. However, as for the specific devices being installed in the vehicles, he has no knowledge of them. Harry said, “The problem with any GPS is security.” If the monitoring is not secure, the safety of the officers and residents of Macungie might be at risk.

GPS Joins the Cause Against Rental Car Abuse

August 1st, 2012

Car rental agencies have an understandable fear when placing a set of keys in the hands of a renter. The unpredictability of drivers’ skills, combined with the knowledge that the drivers will not have to get their rentals’ brakes or transmissions repaired in the future, creates a maintenance and insurance nightmare for agencies. Before long, however, folks might find that they have a new set of incentives to treat rental cars with a little more kindness.

GPS devices are set to become a tool used by insurance companies to keep track of the driving habits of renters. They can record and send back a wide range of informational tidbits—simple things like real-time location and routes traveled, but also more complex data like average speeds, braking behavior, and other activity that could put excessive wear and tear on vehicles. Insurance companies would love the opportunity to reward good drivers by lowering their rates and, of course, put the bulk of insurance costs on the shoulders of more risky drivers. These GPS devices would allow them to do just that.

Insurance companies are starting slowly, though. They recognize that car renters could easily be scared off if they feel like “Big Brother” is suddenly watching them at all times. Right now, most of the GPS tracking is on a voluntary basis, so good drivers looking for discounts are the primary participants. The insurance companies are also mostly limiting their rate changes to discounts, not implementing penalties quite yet.

Financial concerns are not the only ones driving the monitoring by GPS devices. In the event of an accident, a GPS unit could alert the rental agency and emergency response personnel, leading to quicker response times and saved lives. If a rental car were stolen—a common problem, especially with high-value exotic cars—the company could easily help law enforcement locate the vehicle with the help of the GPS signal.

Are car renters too uncomfortable with the idea of agencies watching their every move for GPS tracking to catch on? Perhaps input from volunteers will give insurance and rental agencies an idea of its possible reception on a large scale. Until then, those who are accustomed to taking a few extra liberties with their rentals may want to practice some milder driving habits—just in case someone is watching them on a monitor somewhere.

Massachusetts Towns Studying Public Transportation Routes With GPS to Increase Efficiency

July 24th, 2012

Five towns in Massachusetts are hoping to more efficiently provide public transportation to its people with a little help from GPS devices. The devices have been installed in their public transportation vehicles in order to find out who is riding and where they are headed, culminating in the merging of services next year based on the data collected.

A state grant to the tune of $185,000 was given to the towns of Acton, Boxborough, Littleton, Maynard, and Stow to affix the GPS devices and conduct the study. Officials feel their transportation services – geared toward the senior citizen segment of the population – often run into the situation of nearly-empty vans ending up at the same place at the same time. “What we’re hoping for, by combining these all together, is to have more locations where we can bring people and better accessibility,” said Acton’s health director Doug Halley, who happens to be leading the study.

The GPS devices will collect data from July to the end of September, at which point officials will come up with a plan to combine transportation services. It is Halley’s hope the shared busing will start by July 1 of 2013. The Clock Tower Place, an office park in Maynard which offers transportation to its’ employees, is also participating in the study.

“By having the GPS information, we’ll be able to compile a lot more data on what kind of overlap there is now,” said Keith Bergman, Littleton Town Administrator. “We’d like to move from the anecdotal to the analytical. The solution is going to require specific information about how many trips are we running, how many people are on them, where are they, when are they – that data will be vital to finding a better way to provide the service.”

This isn’t at all about money as some readers may suspect, it’s more about increased efficiency and no additional funds needed from the town – working with what they are already allotted in their transportation budget and no more. “It’s not a case of money,” according to Maynard’s town administrator Michael Sullivan. “It’s how we’re spending the money.” Sullivan sees the less populated western area of Massachusetts offering more transportation options as compared to Maynard, and said, “Coming from a region that is much less dense but has solved this riddle, I don’t see why we can’t.”

Halley said that besides sharing drivers and vehicles, towns will probably have a centralized dispatch service as well. As it is now, if a senior citizen needs a ride, they must put in a request anywhere from 24 to 48 hours in advance. “We would have a system that would be responsive immediately to people’s needs,” Halley said.

He added that consolidation is key, giving transportation services to sectors of the population that didn’t have it before. Acton is already doing this, providing transportation for the city’s children to recreation areas, but he said that the service is usually overbooked. “We have to say no to some of those people because they’re coming at different times from different locations,” said Halley. He feels the solution to this problem is consolidation of services with the other towns, which would add more vehicles to the fleet without purchasing a bus or van.

There are those who feel this GPS study will have negative effects on the senior citizen population. Alyson Toole is the executive director of the Council on Aging in Stow, and she feels the seniors will be spending too much time on the vans as it will be making more stops to pick up and drop off more passengers. She also points out that this van sharing could make it more difficult for the seniors to develop relationships with the drivers, as is currently the case. “The van driver really gets to know the seniors and their particular needs,” she said. “They become almost extra eyes and ears for the outreach. I’m willing to look into it. There’s pros and cons to everything. Just right now I haven’t seen the benefits as much.”

Sharon Mercurio agrees, director of the Acton Council on Aging. “If more school-aged children are using it after school, what about the senior that this is their only way to get to a doctor’s appointment,” she said. “It’s just those kinks that we’re going to have to work out.”

Halley said that the towns will work with different senior groups to assure their satisfaction in the service. “The goal of this is not to take away from the Councils on Aging, but to give more to them,” he said.

Worst Car Renters Ever: GPS Tracker Busts Auto Theft Ring

June 23rd, 2012

The employees at a car rental agency suspected that something wasn’t quite right when they looked up the reading from the GPS tracker on one of their rental cars. The tracker placed the car in a quite unusual location—it wasn’t on a road of any kind, or even on dry land. It was just off the coast in Los Angeles, getting ready to head out to sea! The agency figured out that the vehicle was on board a cargo ship destined for Asia, which didn’t quite match the approved behavior lined out in the rental agreement.

The rental agency had a particular interest in making sure they got this particular car back. It wasn’t your standard economy rental car; it was a Ferrari worth about $280,000. Since the Ferrari seemed to be on its way to another continent and not likely to be returned on time with a full tank of gas, employees contacted customs officials to investigate.

When officers boarded the ship and followed the GPS tracker signal to its source, they found a container labeled as containing used fitness equipment. Opening the container, they found the gleaming black luxury car sitting inside. Other containers also marked “fitness equipment” on the same ship were carrying fifteen other vehicles, all luxury cars stolen from rental agencies and dealers. The total value of the stolen cars totaled about $1.5 million.

If they had made it all the way to Asia, the cars could have been sold for about $3 million in China, Vietnam, and other countries. Instead, the thieves accidentally led police directly to their illegal shipment by trying to move a very expensive car fitted with a GPS tracker. Los Angeles police have not yet arrested anyone suspected in the thefts, although they believe the same ring has successfully stolen cars before and shipped them to Vietnam for resale. The thieves used false information to get their hands on cars, then tried to get them out of the country before law enforcement caught up to them.

Because trackers are now small enough to be hidden on a vehicle or other type of product, businesses are increasingly relying on them as a valuable aid in recovering stolen goods. In the case of a $280,000 Ferrari, the investment in GPS technology was certainly worth it.

Small Town GPS Controversy

June 21st, 2012

The small Pennsyvlania borough of Macungie experienced a Borough Council shouting match over a controversy involving GPS devices. Macungie’s Mayor recently introduced the idea of installing GPS tracking devices on the Borough’s police cars. The primary motivator, apparently, was complaints in the neighborhood that police cars were speeding through, putting residents, especially children, at risk. The GPS devices would function to keep police from driving at inappropriate speeds in the small neighborhood.

GPS Devices to Police the Police
The tracking technique is classic fleet management, one of the primary applications for GPS in business and government use. By tracking the location of a vehicle—police vehicles in Macungie’s case—GPS devices ensure that all road laws are being kept by individuals driving the vehicles in question. Software may be installed to send out alerts when the speed limit is exceeded, etc. Not only does fleet tracking verify that drivers remain in compliance, it lengthens the life of vehicles by ensuring they are being driven in the safest possible manner. They would, essentially, “police the police.” When used optimally, fleet management would protect the police officers and the vehicles they drive.

GPS Devices as Police Safety Aids
One argument introduced during the Borough Council meeting was an additional safety benefit provided by GPS monitoring. If a police officer is involved in a violent altercation, GPS monitoring would make the vehicles easier to track. GPS tracking is being used by millions as a safety device. Apps have been created for GPS-enabled smart phones for college students concerned about assault on campuses. GPS devices are used for safety in relation to a host of outdoor activities from hiking to cross country skiing. In short, these devices are regarded as hugely beneficial in terms of adding an element of safety and situational awareness.

GPS Controversy
For better or worse, the GPS referendum was shot down in Macungie’s Borough Council meeting. It was seen as an unnecessary expense. The crime rate in the town, which has a radius of less than a mile, is among the lowest in the United States. Perhaps one day the town may decide to integrate GPS devices into its police department. For now, however, the Pennsylvania Borough of Macungie will remain as it is, a quiet Borough with an occasional Council controversy.

GPS Keeps Track of Time

June 15th, 2012

In these difficult economic times, it is important for companies to streamline their fleets and micromanage every mile and every minute. Econz Wireless has just released a new GPS tracking device in South Africa that will help do just that. They call it the Timecard GPS Lite, and it helps track people and assets without the need for time sheets and mileage reports.

Back to Basics

The Timecard GPS Lite monitors the location, speed, and mileage of a company’s employees while they are in transit through a handheld wireless device that uses not only satellite data but also terrestrial mapping. The system can be used with any standard cell phone as well as specialized phones such as Blackberry, Nokia, Sonim, Apple iOS, and Tablets. Data is sent every 300 feet, 45-degree angle, or 60 seconds, depending on which comes first when the device is in motion. Because the GPS data is stored in the firmware of the handset, it is not lost when the signal fails; in fact, once the connection is again established, the data is immediately forwarded. Data is stored for six months, and a company can access its data 24-7.

Special Features

Econz offers it customers special features that go above and beyond the typical GPS technology used for fleet management. Bread Crumb Trails record data based on speed and direction, leaving a virtual trail that can be easily retraced if necessary. The Speed Trigger feature allows a company to establish speed limit rules for its drivers and then notifies the administrator if a rule has been broken. The administrator can, in turn, send an email and/or text message letting the driver know of his infraction. The Idle Time Trigger works in the same manner, notifying management when the Timecard GPS Lite transmitter has remained motionless for an extended period of time. The device can even instruct the driver to call the office to discuss the issue. Using the Smart Fence feature, a company can establish a zone, as small as a specific building or as large as a state, and then request notification when the person or asset has entered that zone.

Econz Wireless offers a practical and affordable solution to help companies better manage their employees and their assets, reducing costs and improving efficiency. For less than $10 a month per device with $10 setup fee per device, a company can have the best of GPS technology at its fingertips.

Woman Finds GPS Under Her SUV; Sheriff Claims it Wasn’t Used to Track Her

May 26th, 2012

One of the major controversies surrounding GPS tracking technology has to do with personal privacy. Although GPS could be credited for many advances in science, technology, and everyday living, a lot of people are still wary of the newfound ability to locate anyone, anywhere, using satellites from space. One such critic had her fears brought to life when she found a GPS tracking device attached to her SUV on May 3, 2012. Deputies in Fort Collins, Colorado attached the device to Stacy Lynne’s vehicle back in December as a precautionary measure, but claim to never have turned it on. “That is unbelievable. I think that’s unbelievable. Isn’t that called stalking?” asked Lynne.

Stacy Lynne had recently lost a custody battle and was ordered to turn over her son to her ex-husband. Not recognizing the authority of the court, she refused to follow the court’s orders. While she was in a local copy shop on Dec. 21, 2011, working on her legal pleading, the deputies placed a GPS tracking device on her SUV before arresting her. “They did place a GPS tracker on that vehicle because we didn’t know where that kid was. There was a fear that she would flee with the child,” explained Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith. “We had a court order that this child needed to be safely returned.” She was only held in jail for a few hours while her son was returned to his father, and never faced any charges.

According to the Sheriff, his department didn’t break any laws by placing the tracking device on Lynne’s vehicle without a warrant, because they never turned the device on. During the following months, the deputies made repeated attempts to retrieve the device without Lynne’s knowledge. Unfortunately, she began to notice a police presence following her, and eventually located the device under her SUV. “They just couldn’t find it, and we didn’t want to trespass on private property to retrieve it,” said Smith. “Certainly in this case, the last thing I wanted to see was things that would add to her angst… I’m not happy it was just floating out there. We should have found a way. We should have gotten that thing back,” Smith said.

GPS Device Lets Parents Track Their Teens

May 19th, 2012

Getting your driver’s license for the first time is an exciting event. Driving away from the house alone for the first time is also exciting, and feels like a big step toward becoming an independent adult. But some teens might not get exactly the same exhilaration that earlier generations enjoyed if their parents choose to install the iTeen365 on their family car.

The iTeen365 is a GPS device built by a Chicago company that is already established as a producer of tracking equipment for commercial fleets. The company is now bringing the accountability of GPS to beginning drivers, allowing parents to be a “fly on the wall” of their car while their teens are driving. The tracker installs on the dashboard of the car, and it has one feature that rather obviously questions the honesty of teen drivers in general: it is tamper-proof! There’s no temptation for drivers to turn the device off, remove it from the car, or otherwise send a false message about just how they are driving.

Parents at home can view past and current locations of the GPS device online and find out how fast it has been moving. The basic concept of the iTeen365, backed up by extensive research, is that a beginning driver is statistically more likely to follow safe driving practices if he knows an adult is monitoring his activity. Until now, parents had no way of really knowing how their kids were driving on their own, short of actually following them. A teen who gets in the car and knows that his parents are probably checking his driving statistics every hour or so will hopefully drive as if an adult were in the passenger seat next to him.

You might already be able to predict the most common reactions to the release of this GPS device: Parents are excited about being able to more closely guide their teens as they develop their own driving habits, while young drivers object to the “lack of trust” that installing such a tracker indicates. Objectively, it seems that this kind of accountability will definitely reduce the number of accidents, speeding fines, and loss of driving privileges that teens face. Monthly service for the iTeen365 costs $34.95, plus the cost of the device itself and initial setup.