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You’ve seen it on TV before: grainy black and white images of people stealing cars (or at least attempting to) while the cops sit back and watch it all transpire, awaiting the perfect moment to arrest them.  That moment is usually when the ignition fails (all thanks to the ignition kill the police attach to the vehicle) and the car coasts to a stop, the thief in a panic.

This moment is very real, and thanks to the efforts of the Cape Coral Police Department and other counties in Florida, car theft rates haven’t been this low since 1967.

Authorities use a “bait vehicle” complete with camera and GPS tracking device.  This vehicle usually ranks high on the stolen car list. Thieves often find these bait vehicles too tempting, which allows police to follow a thief’s every move. Eventually, thieves are apprehended, and police use this method of trapping car thieves as a warning to others. So far, this tactic has worked.

The bait car strategy has lowered the vehicle theft rate 31% in Charlotte County alone, which is a considerable amount.

This is good news for Florida car owners. Various cities and counties throughout Florida have long been car theft targets. Now, police (and citizens) have a way to fight back.

Article Written by Khristen Foss

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Bill Moss, Naples, Florida city manager is requesting a grant from city council that would allow GPS tracking of the city’s trees. The technology would be used to track the location of trees. Moss explains, “When we lose trees we’ll be able to identify the exact location and be a help to us in our five year planning process.” The proposal has ignited quite a bit of controversy in this Florida city.

Some Naples residents are on board with the project. They appreciate the city’s beautiful trees and are happy to spend tax money on making sure it remains that way. Sally Richardson, a city resident, had this to say, “We have a beautiful city and unless people are proactive, it wont stay that way.”

Others are a bit more skeptical that this project is the right way to spend tax dollars. The city has a projected 5-year budget deficit of over $16 million, and many residents, including City Counsilman Gary Price, think the money would be better spent elsewhere. The total cost of the project is estimated at $10,500, half of which would come from city taxes and the other half from federal taxes.

GPS tracking has been used to monitor wildlife for the last few years. The technology has brought much understanding about animals and their environment. Skeptics of this plan think tracking trees is stretching the value of this technology. Sue Falci, another Naples resident, said, “Trees are what they are. I can’t imagine tracking them. They’re not going to move are they?”

The city currently keeps a detailed inventory of its 25,000 trees, including location, species and condition of the trees. Gary Price explains, “We already have an inventory of the trees, I don’t thinking they’re going anywhere and I don’t need GPS to tell me where they are. Being good stewards of taxpayer dollars – anything is better than GPS tracking of trees.” He adds, “Enough is enough. We’ve got to stop spending federal money, state money, local money on these ridiculous projects.

Article Written by Marisa O’Connor

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We already know that parents can use GPS tracking to keep up with their kids. And now, some child welfare workers in Florida are also using this technology to manage their caseload as they look out for the best interests of children in the child welfare system.

Now, before you ask, the child welfare system will not be outfitting all of the children in its jurisdiction with GPS tracking devices in their backpacks. Rather, they will be supplying caseworkers with tracking devices that they will use to file and track information.

Before this it could take up to 60 days to file paperwork. Now caseworkers can record data to indicate how long they’ve spent looking in on a family instantly. The system is set up to give alerts to let supervisors know if no one has been to see a family in a certain number of days. This should cut down on the numbers of instances where no one checks on children for inordinate amounts of time.

Caseworkers will be able to spend a lot more of their time actually visiting families and coordinating services. They won’t be stuck in the office filling out and filing paperwork. The tracking system should make the child welfare system in Florida much more efficient and help them keep much better track of the children in their care.

The new technology will also support caseworkers since supervisors will be able to send alerts to employees out in the field. If there is an update that they need to be aware of before they make a visit, they will not be in the dark. Whether it is to warn them of danger or to give them benign, but necessary information, GPS tracking will be a two-way conduit of communication.

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