Rocky Mountain Tracking

By Harriette Halepis

WBZ Boston, Lowell, Massachusetts, January 29, 2010 - The state of Lowell, Massachusetts, recently proposed that all Lowell police cars be fitted with GPS trackers. Other states that have outfitted state-owned vehicles with GPS trackers have managed to increase productivity and emergency response time. However, the Lowell police force is not allowing the installation of GPS trackers without a fight.

Tracking Police Cars

Due to planned protests, the annual awards ceremony that is usually held in the Lowell memorial Auditorium had to be cancelled.  Those who are a part of the Lowell force feel that the installation of GPS trackers would be a violation of personal rights, though City Manager Bernard Lynch doesn’t quite see the situation in this manner.

Instead, Lynch argues that the city “…wants to make sure that…police officers are doing what they’re supposed to be doing… (WBZ)“ While this may sound paranoid to some, the fact of the matter is that many other states through the nation have found that city employees spend a lot more time tending to non-work related tasks then they do to work related tasks.

Further, tax payers don’t see anything wrong with ensuring that police officers are actually working for that tax money. As one resident put it “it’s tax dollars at work. You see a cruiser sitting on the side of the road, at least back at dispatch, they know where they are (WBZ).” This resident isn’t the only one, many people within the Lowell area wonder whether or not police officers are spending their time wisely.

As for those members of the Lowell police force, a press release that was sent to the Lowell Sun states that “the chief has proclaimed his lack of trust in our members by proposing the GPS system (WBZ).” At this time, no further comments have been made by force representatives. Thus, the proposal has not yet been implemented, though both state officials and city taxpayers would like to see the proposal set into motion.

GPS trackers installed in police cars across the nation would not only ensure that police officers are respecting state time, but they would also ensure that stolen police vehicles are returned in a timely manner. Also, back up crews would likely be able to reach officers in distress faster with the help of a GPS tracker.

By Harriette Halepis

Moscow, December 29, 2009 — In many corners of the world, criminals are now facing a new kind of house arrest that includes GPS tracking technology. This technology allows law enforcement officials to track a criminal’s every move, which often leads to a reduction in crime.

Russians Embrace GPS Tracking

Recently, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has approved a bill that will allow courts to rule that those placed under house arrest wear GPS tracking bracelets. This is a new way of enforcing the law within Russia, and it’s one that many hope will change the way Russian criminals act and behave while under house arrest.

Courts wishing to place criminals under house arrest will have two different tracking options. The first includes a tracking device that simply sends a signal to a local police station. The second involves a GPS tracking bracelet that includes all the modern GPS tracking capabilities - electronic “fence,” high alerts, and computer enabled map tracking.

As many other countries are quickly discovering, placing criminals under house arrest with the aid of a GPS tracking device is both efficient and intelligent. Not only will criminals be less likely to roam outside of a designated area, but police officers will also have a better chance of capturing an escaped house arrest criminals.

The bill (which was passed by the Russian parliament) will be put into effect beginning on January 10, 2010. While Russian house arrest criminals may have had many opportunities to escape in the past, the dawn of the GPS tracker is about to change the Russian court system for good.

By Greg Bartlett

Somali pirates are famous for capturing ships and demanding ransoms. One of the more recent cases has caused people to wonder if GPS tracking systems could be useful in these situations. While it may not be possible to completely stop the pirating with GPS tracking systems, they may make things easier for the authorities.

GPS Tracking & Pirates on the High Seas

From speed boats to sail boats, boat theft has always been a problem, but boat hijacking is an even bigger concern, because people are often taken hostage during hijackings. The increase in boat thefts and hijackings has moved many boat owners to purchase GPS tracking systems to protect these valuable possessions.

Finding a missing boat is much more difficult than finding a missing vehicle because there are limited places that a vehicle can go. GPS tracking systems can easily pinpoint the location of the missing boat and also protect a very expensive item. People who have invested a lot of money in their boats need to protect them from theft with GPS technology.

The most important reason that people should install a GPS tracker in their boat is that it would help the authorities quickly find them in the case of a hijacking. Instead of waiting until the pirates demand a ransom, a GPS tracking system will allow the authorities to act immediately. A fast reaction time is crucial in these kinds of situations.

You could even use the geo-fencing feature that comes with most active GPS tracking systems to prevent this kind of problem from happening. The geo-fencing feature will alert you if your boat is moved from the dock, so you will know instantly if it has been stolen. In addition, you can use this feature to keep you in safe waters while you are out boating. Although you do not always know where potential boat hijackers are, placing a geo-fence alert around pirating hot spots will keep you out of the most dangerous areas.

You could also use this GPS tracking system to notify the authorities of your location if you have any other kind of emergency. Whether the boat is sinking or someone has become very ill, cutting down the amount of time that it takes the authorities to respond is very important.

Thanks to GPS tracking systems, recovering a boat, which could take months without the help of GPS technology, now becomes a very simple thing to do.

By Greg Bartlett

Police have long employed GPS trackers to monitor to movements of those suspected of involvement in criminal activity. Certainly the technology is effective. GPS trackers are becoming far more accurate and efficient with each development generation. However, privacy advocates have brought up legitimate concerns about how or when officers can use these devices. The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution prohibits arbitrary government search and seizure without a warrant. The question for police, lawmakers, and judges is therefore simple: does the unwarranted placement of a GPS tracker on someone’s property constitute an illegal invasion of privacy?

GPS & Criminals

The answer, as is often the case in complex issues, is yes and no. Yes, it would be illegal for officers to place a GPS tracker on your vehicle in an environment where you would have some reasonable expectation of privacy. That means no sneaking into your garage to plant one on your back bumper. But no, it would not be illegal for police to place a GPS tracker on your car while it was parked in some public place. However, in the act of placing the device must not involve intruding into legally “private” areas of your car, like the trunk or the glove compartment.

These principles were established over twenty years ago in cases such as United States v. Knotts and United States v. Karo, where suspects were tracked with radio “beepers” planted on items they planned to use in the production and distribution of drugs. In each case, the defendants argued that the tracking devices violated their privacy and could not be used as evidence against them. However, the Supreme Court ruled that as long as police used police trackers to supplement their conventional tracking activities, such as following a car along a public highway, the evidence obtained by the tracking data would be valid and admissible in court.

States are still debating the finer issues within lower courts, so activities will vary in legality across the country. In State v. Jackson, for instance, the Supreme Court of Washington ruled that GPS trackers could violate the privacy clauses within that state’s own constitution. Likewise, a Maryland court believed that GPS trackers could conflict with the Fourth Amendment, but the federal justice in charge of that case stopped short of reversing the sentence of a suspect who had been tailed with the aid of a GPS tracker on his back bumper.

Privacy questions still remain, but GPS trackers will continue to play a role in law enforcement, letting police tail offenders at a safe distance.

By Greg Bartlett

The numerous benefits of GPS tracking have been well-documented and law enforcement officials have added to that list of benefits by using GPS devices in the performance of their duties. GPS tracking devices have been used over the past ten years to help police monitor criminal activities. By placing a transmitter on a suspect’s car, they can place that suspect at the scene of a crime or link him with various criminal activity including drug transportation and vehicle theft.

Police Use of GPS

Recent court cases have questioned the use of GPS tracking with regard to a suspect’s privacy rights and many states require a warrant before the device can be placed. Law enforcement departments are happy to comply with this regulation, however, and contend that the devices not only provide accurate information that might otherwise be difficult to obtain, but also save money and man power for budget conscious departments.

Once the GPS tracking device is placed on the car, the transmitter will send a signal to a receiving device which can be monitored by police in order to determine a criminal suspect’s movements. Some devices will provide not only location, but also number and length of stops made, speed, and direction of travel. Since battery life is limited, officers will sometimes connect the device to the car’s power source for more lengthy surveillance operations.

GPS tracking has been successful in helping police track down criminal suspects. One recent case in Massachusetts involved a suspected drug violation. Officers were able to follow the suspect’s movements for eighteen months and finally to arrest him and discover the drugs he was carrying. The court ruled that the officers had complied with all GPS tracking regulations, and a dangerous criminal was placed behind bars.

While the use of GPS tracking in law enforcement has met with many questions and requires several regulations to be met, officers speak highly of the ability it gives them to monitor suspect activity remotely and without long hours of dangerous and difficult in-person surveillance. The debate over whether or not a warrant should be required has not stalled the advances GPS tracking has made in enabling officers to do their jobs safely and efficiently. No matter what the ultimate court rulings on warrants will be, police departments will continue to comply with federal and state regulations while relying on the ability of GPS tracking to complement their law enforcement efforts.

By Harriette Halepis

The recent arrest of Phillip Garrido has led to much debate as to the effectiveness of GPS trackers when being worn by paroled criminals. Many are quick to point out that even though police were tracking Garrido, not one officer noticed that Garrido was keeping Jaycee Dugard in his backyard.

GPS & Ankle Tracking

One officer noted that Garrido spent a large amount of time in his backyard on a consistent basis, though this was not deemed suspicious behaviour. GPS reports showed that Garrido went places he wasn’t supposed to go regularly, though nothing was done about this boundary breach.

In fact, most police personnel are not surprised that Garrido was never reprimanded for wandering outside of his legal boundaries. California Correctional Peace Officers Association representative Lance Corcoran told press that these violations were as “…routine as stoplights. They happen all the time.”

In short, the fact that a convicted felon has purposely violated his parole is no more unusual than a stoplight. Only, there’s nothing normal about a convicted felon wandering into areas that are legally off limits, and police had more than enough reason to stop him for stepping outside of his tracked bounds.

The problem, Corcoran states, is not that police don’t want to stop these violations. Instead, the problem is that (in this case) the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told officers not to report parolees that had stepped out of bounds.

Why? Simply put, if police were to create a report each time a parolee crossed that imaginary line, far too many people would be sent back to prison, which, in turn, would cost any state a lot of money – but, isn’t that the whole idea behind allowing criminals to live outside the prison system? If a parolee makes an illegal movement, should that person not be sent back to jail?

As the details of the Dugard case unravel, many people are taking GPS tracking technology to task. Still, the question remains: who’s to blame for Garrido’s heinous crimes? Are they the fault of the GPS tracking device that did its job, or the police system that’s supposed to be keeping our streets safe?

GPS Tracking is a technological marvel.  When it first arrived on the scene, many people questioned its applicability to modern society.  Within just a few years, however, those questions have been answered.  The most prolific ways that GPS Tracking is having an effect is in the area of law enforcement.

The Badge & GPS

Here is how:

Theft Recovery and Prosecution

Do you believe that all police have to do all day is track down stolen goods and arrest the perpetrators?  Think again.  Theft of property is not the highest priority.  That being the case, GPS Tracking devices are all the more important.  If something of high value is stolen from you and you have a tracking unit attached to it which provides real-time tracking, you can forward the location information to police.  They would be more than happy to solve a case instantly instead of having it end up in a manila folder on an investigators desk along with all of the other cases that demand attention.

Provides Tracking of Suspects

Police are learning how to use GPS Tracking devices to track and arrest those involved in criminal activities.  They might not have enough evidence at first to make an arrest, but with GPS Tracking they can get the information they need.

Provides a Strong Deterrent

GPS Tracking units will help make black market activities of stolen goods a thing of the past.  As it is learned that there is little or no profit in the business of stealing, there will be fewer involved in it.

Provides Element of Surprise

The great thing about GPS Tracking is that the perpetrators do not know that they are being tracked.  The element of surprise is an advantage that keeps on giving and helping law enforcement officials in their struggle to contain these types of crimes.

Gives Court-admissible Evidence

Court challenges against the use of GPS Tracking systems have so far proven ineffective.  GPS Tracking is to theft prevention like the DNA is to the medical field.  The evidence supplied by these devices is almost irrefutable in courts of law.

Obtain a GPS Tracking system for your department today.  You will be glad you did.

Rocking Mountain Tracking has the best line-up of GPS Tracking devices to meet any need.  Take a look at their products and options for the best fit for your business.  You will find knowledgeable sales persons in helping you get the best unit to meet your requirements.

By Greg Bartlett

Almost every driver has received a speeding ticket at one time or another and many people will claim that their ticket was undeserved. Unfortunately, there is not much that you can do to fight a speeding ticket. It is just your word against the police officer’s radar gun. But new GPS technology might just be the solution. By installing a vehicle tracking system in your car you can monitor the speed that you travel after the fact or in real time.

GPS & Radar

Radar guns are not always accurate, but they are always considered accurate by the law enforcement. Since they have to calculate the speed of a vehicle quickly, they can easily make a mistake. As many as one fourth of all speeding tickets could have been given because of a radar gun error. There are a few reasons that radar guns do not work well, beginning with radio frequency interference and mechanical interference as well as mistakes by the police officer. If three black cars zoom by the officer’s car, he might have a difficult time figuring out which one he clocked as speeding, causing him to give the ticket to the wrong person.

Although city governments do not want to admit that they are using faulty radar guns, because it will make it easier for people to fight their speeding tickets, a vehicle tracking system may be enough to prevent you from receiving a ticket. Even if the vehicle tracking system tracks you as exceeding the speed limit, this could still reduce your fine amount if the law enforcement officer clocked you as going faster.

There is one obvious caution about trusting your vehicle tracking system to save you from a speeding ticket. You must be following the speed limit. This fact can trip up those people who regularly go 3-5 miles over the speed limit. If the vehicle tracking system records that you were exceeding the speed limit, you cannot feasibly use that information to get yourself out of a speeding violation.

Although a vehicle tracking system has not yet overturned a speeding violation in court, there is currently a legal battle over this topic going on in California. In the next few weeks it will be up to the California government to determine which technology is more accurate and reliable. This court case could forever change the way people look at speeding tickets.

By Greg Bartlett

On the weekend of August 29, 2009, a man was robbed by two villains in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. At gun-point he surrendered the items taken from him, including his cell phone, credit cards, and his banking card pin number. The man was let go and headed home where he cancelled his cards, called the police, and started tracking the two villains over the Internet, using the GPS tracking device in his cell phone.

Capturing Thieves

A GPS tracking device can be located anywhere in the world, using the United States’ Global Positioning System. Development of this program began in the 1940’s during World War II for the United States Air Force. GPS was made available to the public in the 1980’s, so not only do the U.S. military enjoy the benefits of this technology but scientist, medical professionals, government officials, law enforcement agents, sports enthusiasts, business owners, and, of course, the average - and above-average - homemakers. Many people are enjoying the benefits of GPS tracking today, in the beginning of the twenty-first century.

What would you do if you were robbed? It is easy to imagine ourselves doing great heroic feats, isn’t it? Hopefully, you have never been and never will be robbed, but, if you are, hopefully you will have the presence of mind to carry out at least some of your visions of heroism. After all, upright and ethical men and women ought to be living in such a way today that those practicing evil will be in fear - and not the other way around.

When the police arrived at this man’s home, he had already been tracking the villains on his home computer by means of the GPS tracking device installed in his phone. Thanks to GPS tracking and this man’s preparations and presence of mind, the police were able to apprehend not only these two criminals but also their accomplice.

By Greg Bartlett

Criminals think that they can secretly break into company property and steal valuables, equipment or product – never to be caught. Robberies have, for hundreds, indeed thousands, of years, been an enormous cost for business owners. In a short period of time expensive pieces of equipment can be stolen never to be seen by their owners again. The search for such equipment, any repairs due because of a break-in, and the potential loss of income due to employees being unable to do their work make the stealing of equipment very costly for any business – especially in the field of construction. Due to the costly nature of such robberies, many construction companies have turned to GPS tracking for help – and it has worked.

GPS tracking uses the United States Air Forces’ Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor and record the position of any given person, animal, or object. Given the nature of this system, it has proven both economical and convenient for many on the individual and the company levels. The powers of GPS have been harnessed not only for tracking but also for navigation, enabling people to map a vacation or business route with great convenience – from anywhere in the world. The tracking features of GPS have proven surprisingly versatile, being used for both domestic and commercial purposes. Pet owners, base jumpers, conservationist, agriculturalists, leasing companies, and construction companies – among many others – are using GPS tracking for many different purposes. The creativity and ingenuity in the use of this tool is impressive.

In July 2009, an incident was reported that a backhoe was stolen from company property. Little did the criminal or criminals know, but the construction company from whom the backhoe was stolen had a GPS tracking device attached to it. Thus, with the GPS tracking device attached to the backhoe, the equipment was seen to be off company property soon after the robbery took place. A company official quickly reported this to the police, who were able to track down and charge the man for this crime. With the advancements in twenty-first-century technology, the century-old problem of locating stolen goods and apprehending the parties responsible for the robbery seems to have a practical solution. With GPS tracking the person who attempted to steal this company’s backhoe – worth $5,000 – was quickly identified and apprehended.