Rocky Mountain Tracking

Daily GPS News

Cities and Towns Turning to GPS in Great Numbers

July 1st, 2010

More cities and towns are implementing GPS Tracking to help them save money. Tax revenues are down because the lack of jobs is producing lower tax collections. This hits the bottom line and threatens the services that communities have come to depend upon for years. Now, municipalities are turning to ways to save money, but still provide essential services.

Government & GPS Tracking

A key component in all of this is GPS Tracking. Here are five ways that a government can use these devices to help keep them from operating in the red, but still provide what citizens need.

Accountability and Safety

With the right GPS Tracking device you can get real-time tracking which gives you instant feedback as to the location of your trucks and workers as they perform their jobs. Drivers and operators are normally very responsible people, but there is always room for improvement; especially in the area of safety. Knowing where your people are at all times provides true peace-of-mind.

Evidence of Performance

When it comes to essential street services, when was the last time that you made a sweep of the city to collect downed tree limbs, etc.? If someone calls you, can you supply that information? If you have one of these GPS tracking systems you can. And with real-time accuracy, you can give an estimated time of arrival. Being able to give out this data is invaluable to your sanity as well.

Managing Fleet Maintenance

Now you can keep track of how many hours and miles have been consumed by your fleet of vehicles. Having this data will help you be able to monitor and schedule preventive maintenance stops. The time and effort applied in this task can help keep your fleet running smoothly when the additional demands of poor weather conditions are placed on it.

Justification for Leadership

Not only can you report on the whereabouts and activities performed by your fleet and drivers, you can deliver reports that give you factual records to prove the worth of the vehicles in your keeping and help provide evidence when you need to request funds to add to or replace what you have in inventory. This information is invaluable to elected officials for this purpose alone.

For Tracking Stolen Items

You cannot be too cautious with equipment that is publically funded. Thieves are in the business of taking items that can bring a high price on the black market. You can stop them in their tracks by installing GPS tracking systems on all of your major pieces of equipment. Recovering items taken can be performed in just hours, not days or months. That keeps you operating with a complete inventory.

Cities and towns all would benefit from GPS Tracking. Today’s economic conditions are demanding and the best way to meet those demands is with the added control that a gps system affords your municipality.

Technological Uses for GPS Tracking Abound

June 30th, 2010

If awards were handed out for the best use of technology in the field of electronics, GPS would be at or near the top of the list. Medical uses would probably be at the top, but certainly GPS Tracking would be a close second.

GPS Tracking & Technological Advances

Think of all of the ways that GPS Tracking is helping to improve and order our world. We are speaking about the ability to be able to track automobiles, construction equipment, boats, airplanes, and about any other kind of motorized passenger or utility vehicle that you can imagine. And it does not stop there. The tracking of cargo and freight around the world is also becoming more common.

Practical Applications

By purchasing and placing a GPS Tracking unit in your vehicle, you can collect information about the location and usage of any vehicle in real-time. This means that you can track location, distance, direction, speed and other information which is relevant to your vehicle.

Information Uses

The ability to capture this information is valuable in several areas of our society. There is a need to be more and more concerned about issues surrounding the production of evidence for contractual compliance as well as maintaining operations within legal limitations. Being able to supply this information at a moment’s notice will not only help prevent thefts and accidents, but will also provide court-admissible proof of the meeting of obligations.

Verification of Actions

The applications are almost limitless. The main component is need followed by verification. If a business has a fleet of vehicles that it has to maintain, then a GPS Tracking system would be invaluable as a way to maintain control over the intricate details of how a vehicle is being utilized. Heavy construction equipment can be tracked in case it is stolen. School buses can be monitored for driver performance and law compliance.

Benefits Abound

We live in safer communities, and enjoy lower insurance premiums with GPS Tracking. In business customer satisfaction is increased. Also, employees are held accountable and performance is raised. Public assets are better monitored and tracked for usage. And, theft of items is tracked and recovery and prosecution of thieves is much easier and less time-consuming.

Everyone wins when a GPS Tracking system is used. And, the cost is small when compared to the liability that exists without one. Try one and experience the benefits for yourself.

Our U.S. Military Depends on GPS for Equipment Tracking

June 29th, 2010

by Harriette Halepis

Source acquired via Associated Press, June 4, 2010, Denver, Colorado – Last week, 10,000 GPS receivers that the U.S. military relies upon stopped working. More than 100 armored vehicles, aircraft carriers, ships, and other types of defense systems use GPS Tracking technology. When the power went out the United States Air Force was left scrambling.

The Military and GPS Tracking

John Pike, director of Global security.org, related to press just how serious the situation was. When it comes to the U.S. military, “…everything that moves…” moves with the help of GPS technology. In fact, GPS technology “…is so central to the American style of war that you just couldn’t leave home without it.” When questioned by members of the press, a spokesperson for the military stated that the military as a whole is “…extremely confident in the safety and security of the GPS system from enemy attack.”

This statement was made based upon the fact that learning how to cripple the GPS technology that the U.S. military relies upon could also cripple the military itself – something that many U.S. enemies would love to accomplish. During the 2003 Iraqi invasion, a device was used to jam the GPS technology that the U.S military uses. In order to dislodge this device, the military used a GPS-guided bomb to eliminate the device.

A spokesperson for the U.S military went on to tell press that human error was the military’s main concern when it comes to GPS technology. By entering the wrong coordinates, soldiers and missiles alike can be sent to incorrect areas — a blunder that has happened once or twice. While there’s no doubt that human error can occur, many are still skeptical as to the reliability of the GPS technology that the military currently uses.

As was made evident this past month, the military is essentially motionless unless all GPS systems are functioning. Still, the military assures the general public that “since GPS’ inception, there has never been a breach of GPS.” The glitch that occurred last week took military experts nearly two weeks to fix, thought the exact problem has not yet been determined. More information regarding the incident is expected to surface within the next few months.

Attacking Domestic Violence

June 26th, 2010

New CT Bill Aims To Keep Victims Safe

With one stroke of the pen, Governor M. Jodi Rell signed in a new law that would hopefully reduce domestic violence in Connecticut with the use of GPS tracking system technology. In response to her actions, Rell explained the pain and damage caused from domestic violence, and how it was necessary for additional appropriate steps to be made to help eliminate or at lest reduce the problem.

Domestic Violence & GPS Tracking

After a number of high profile domestic violence stories began making headlines in the West Haven and Fairfield regions earlier this year, many people in Connecticut began asking lawmakers to step-up with new and better legislation aimed specifically at the problem of domestic violence. One of those incidents involved a man who shot his wife multiple times before turning the gun on himself. The man, Selami Ozdemir, had a history of domestic violence.

The new legislation attacks the problem of domestic violence in a variety of ways. First, the bill begins with education and teaching teenagers the dangers and warning signs surrounding domestic violence. The next step would involve the actions of a task force designed specifically to target the issue, discovering what are the triggers, causes and best ways to help victims who feel helpless in their most desperate of moments.

GPS tracking systems will also be used to monitor the movements of habitual or high-risk offenders. These people could be classified as individuals with a prior record of abuse, or who violate restraining orders. In response to a question regarding the bill, Gerald Fox explained that the tools provided by the government and legal system to help reduce domestic violence must be strengthened in order to greatly reduce the problem.

GPS monitoring units equipped to the domestic violence offenders will transmit the location of a person, vehicle or asset in real-time. It is a tool that many states have implemented to strengthen their efforts in protecting their community. GPS tracking keeps abusers accountable and retrievable at a moments notice.

Hopefully, the new legislation will usher in a new era of reduced domestic violence in the state of Connecticut and other states will follow this high-tech trend.

Ryan Horban is a guest author who specializes in writing about GPS technology and monitoring devices for Tracking System Direct.

5 Successful GPS Tracking Uses

June 24th, 2010

by Greg Bartlett

GPS tracking devices are extremely helpful to both families and businesses. Some first-time GPS shoppers may not understand what all can be done with this exciting technology, so here are 5 common ways that GPS trackers are used successfully by both businesses and consumers.

GPS Tracking for Success

Protecting your family

GPS tracking can be used to track those who are most important to you: your spouse and kids. This can be done either through cell phone trackers, or dedicated devices that can be placed on individuals. These devices, like most GPS trackers, almost always come with software or access to a secure website that allows you to see where your family members are.

Preventing car theft

GPS car trackers can be easily placed in a discreet place in your vehicle so that you can always keep track of where it is located using the tracker’s software. Many of these devices allow you to hook the tracker up to the car’s battery, so that the tracker never needs recharging. These devices have already resulted in the quick recovery of many stolen vehicles, as the police can use the tracking signal to find the vehicle’s location soon after it is reported to them.

Encourage safe driving

GPS car trackers can also be used to help teen drivers practice safe driving skills. Devices that are created for this purpose not only track the location of vehicle, but can also track the speed, and sometimes the acceleration of the vehicle. Some devices even contain a “speed cap” that will not allow the car to go faster than a speed that parents set. Since teens driving GPS tracked cars know that their driving is being watched by their parents, studies show that they often drive much safer and have fewer accidents than untracked cars.

Increasing worker productivity

In the business world, countless billions of dollars are lost every year to lost productivity. Lost productivity can be especially high with workers who travel to off-site locations to do work. They can use company vehicles for personal use, get lost on the way to jobs, and otherwise waste precious company time and fuel. GPS tracking can be used to keep these workers accountable, much like it is used to track teenage drivers. Workers who know their bosses are watching them often work better than they would otherwise, as studies repeatedly show.

Company asset protection

GPS tracking devices can also be discreetly placed on larger or transportable company assets, such as company vehicles, construction equipment, laptop computers, etc. These items often represent thousands of dollars of company money. Company laptops, of course, can contain priceless company information, records, and industry secrets that are so valuable that a company must recover them or risk the information falling into the wrong hands.

GPS tracking is a solution to many problems faced by the modern company and family, and is well worth the minimal investment.

GPS Tracking Watch Protects Children

June 21st, 2010

by Greg Bartlett

Every day children disappear from playgrounds, shopping malls, and parking lots that are never found. This is probably the worst thing that could happen to any parent as they would do anything to prevent their child from being kidnapped. But how can they keep an eye on their child at all times?

GPS & Children

GPS tracking devices may be the answer. With a real time GPS tracker, parents would be able to go online and immediately locate their child. If the child was missing, this information could be given to the law enforcement officers and the child could be found in a matter of minutes. Real time GPS trackers often have geo-fencing capabilities which can instantly notify parents by text message or email that their child has left a specified geographic location. To set this up, the adult just needs to specify a radius around the area that they want the child to stay in and they will be notified if the child ever strays from this area. You could indicate they stay within the neighborhood, but keep kids from wandering into the nearby woods, for example.

While GPS tracking devices are clearly the answer for parents looking to monitor their kid’s movements, the next question is invariably, what kind of tracker is best? Trackers can be found in many forms. Basic GPS tracking devices can be affixed to clothing or put in a backpack, but in some instances that solution is not always convenient.

The Nu M8 watch is a new tracking device that is specifically designed to be worn by children. The watch has a GPS tracker inside, and since kids are more likely to wear watches all the time than they are to wear a jacket, many parents will find this to be a good solution. With the Nu M8 watch, the child’s movements can be monitored from cell phone or computer, which gives parents peace of mind even if they are away from a computer with internet. This makes it easy to locate a child who needs to be located at a theme park.

The Nu M8 watch has several features that parents will appreciate. One is the geo-fencing abilities to designate an area that if breached, will send out an alert to their cell phone. The watch also notifies the parents by email or text if it is removed or deactivated.

Children are known for losing and breaking things; however, when parents consider how tracking devices will keep their child safe, many of them will embrace the technology and the investment.

“Old School” Tactics Prevent New-Tech Theft

June 14th, 2010

By Harriette Halepis

Source acquired via Bronx Times, June 3, 2010, New York – he may not be able to climb buildings and he doesn’t wear a red and blue suit, but retired NYPD Lieutenant Anthony Amelio is nothing short of a neighborhood hero. On the morning of May 22, 2010, Amelio chased a GPS thief down three streets until he finally caught him, held him, and waiting for the 49^th Precinct to arrive.

GPS Tracking & Vehicle Theft

Amelio was already awake around 4:30 a.m. when he saw a car thief break into his neighbour’s Jeep. Upon spotting the thief, Amelio went out to where the thief was standing, and “…gave two commands: Police! Don’t Shoot!” At the time, Amelio was wearing a retired police officer identification around his neck, though the criminal did not heed Amelio’s warning. Instead, the robber ran away from the scene with Amelio hot on his trail.

As Amelio attempted to capture the thief, his wife dialled 911 in order to alert police. Amelio eventually caught up with 40-year-old Napoleon Cirera, and he was able to detain him until police arrived. Cirera was charged with auto stripping, possession of stolen property, petty larceny, and other offenses. As for Amelio, he was simply happy that he was able to catch the thief. The retired lieutenant told press that apprehending Cirera was “…a quality of life issue. You don’t want to come out of your home and find that someone has broken into your vehicle.”

Cirera was searching for cars that had visible GPS navigation units inside of them. These units can be easily stripped from cars and sold on the black market. This is precisely why Cirera was intending to do when Amelio caught him. Police believe that Cirera may have been responsible for a number of thefts that have taken place within Amelio’s area over the past few months. Police are warning people who own GPS navigation units to hide these units from plain sight.

While most GPS mapping units that are stolen are never recovered, installing a GPS tracking device on the unit is one way to prevent a thief from stealing this piece of equipment. Since most people do not have retired NYPD lieutenants living next door, a GPS tracking device is the next best thing. In this case, Amelio’s neighbor, Peter Enea, was fortunate to live next to someone as heroic as Amelio. Cirera will be sentenced by a New York court within the next few weeks.

Airlines Required to Install New GPS Technology

June 5th, 2010

By Greg Bartlett

In only ten years, every airplane in the sky will be required to use the new GPS navigation system known as NextGen. This high tech tracking system uses global positioning satellites to pinpoint a plane’s location and send it to receivers on the ground as well as receivers in other planes. Once every aircraft has this system, air travel safety is expected to increase with the increase in communication. Another benefit of NextGen is the greater accuracy of this technology in predicting the locations of planes. With the current radar system, air traffic controllers or pilots sometimes make costly and even tragic mistakes. But with the new gps tracking system, air carriers hope to avoid the mistakes of the past.

GPS & Airliners

Although this new system has many benefits, many airlines and private jet owners are concerned about the huge cost of implementing this new technology. The cost for a major airline to install gps navigation systems in each of their planes is staggering. Some estimate that the total cost of NextGen could be in the billions. Although many agree that the current sixty-year-old radar tracking system needs to be replaced, airlines are concerned about the huge cost of this new technology. Some airlines have decided to get a head start on replacing their outdated radar systems. Airlines such as Southwest and American Airlines have already started using this new gps technology. Their success with the new navigation system has caused others to notice the many advantages this system has. However, the expense of putting the new system into operation will continue to be an issue.

Obviously, gps is rapidly becoming an essential part of life today. Soon gps technology will dominate the transportation system. In only thirty years, gps has gone from being only for U.S military use to being used in every part of life today, public and private. Pet owners use gps to keep track of their dogs and cats, businesses use gps technology for theft prevention, and law enforcement uses gps to track criminals. Use of this remarkable satellite system has spread so rapidly partly because of its reliability. Unlike other tracking systems, gps units cannot break down. Only weather or atmospheric conditions can affect the accuracy of gps satellite signals. Also, because of the fourteen satellites positioned around the globe, gps signals can be received anywhere – in a busy city or deserted wilderness. This cutting edge technology will undoubtedly be used in many areas of life in the future.

How GPS Tracking Can Locate Money

June 4th, 2010

By Greg Bartlett

Have you ever misplaced money? Have you lost that $10 that you thought sure you had placed in your wallet or purse? Have you had money stolen from you whether or not you were aware of it?

Following Money with GPS Tracking

GPS tracking is an effective and efficient means of locating lost or stolen people, animals, goods, or money. It is different from GPS navigation commonly found in motor vehicles. A GPS tracking device may be placed on a person or item, allowing you to find that person or item. A GPS (global positioning system) tracking device works together with one of twenty-four satellites located above the earth to pinpoint and locate a person or item in real-time and track their movements. Once the signal is sent to the GPS-enabled tracking device (e.g., navigation system), that person knows the precise location of his/her asset.

You may have recently heard about how GPS tracking allowed police to capture two bank robbers who stole cash from the Bank of North Georgia. Police did not know the suspects and had conflicting reports regarding the getaway vehicle. Eyewitnesses told Hiram police that the suspects fled in a black SUV. Using a strategically-placed GPS tracking device in the stolen money, police followed the money to an Atlanta townhouse complex. The money did not move at that point. Hiram and Atlanta police moved in on the townhouse and located and arrested 23-year old Vernon Keith McDougal and 39-year old Jemal D. Coleman. Police were skeptical because a gold Nissan (not a black SUV) was parked outside. But police arrested the two thieves and placed them in the Paulding County jail.

In this particular case, the GPS tracking device placed inside the money by a brave and courageous teller established a signal with one of the satellites located outside the earth. These satellites cover most areas around the world. These twenty-four satellites are arranged so that four are placed within each of the six orbital planes of the earth. Once Hiram and Atlanta police took out their GPS-enabled devices (e.g., laptop computer, cell phone, etc.) and started receiving signals on their map, the police could track the movement of the money and trace it to the Atlanta townhouse in which they located and arrested the suspects. A GPS tracking device is the best answer for locating lost or stolen people, money, animals, and goods.

GPS Tracking Devices Play Detective

June 3rd, 2010

By Greg Bartlett

Cars stolen, stores burglarized, computers missing–in the past these crimes often may have meant a permanent loss of possessions for the owners. Although police could pick up on evidence at the crime scene, follow the trial, and do their best to bring the criminals to justice, no one could guarantee their search would be successful. Oftentimes hints and trails fail, and investigators find themselves at a dead end with valuable goods staying lost or stolen forever.

Theft Recovery with GPS Tracking

GPS tracking devices have changed this situation, doing away with many dead ends and thus helping individuals regain their stolen possessions. Families and business with valuable possessions can outfit their items with GPS devices. If the items are stolen, the GPS device tracks where it’s taken and leads the police or investigators to it. Not only do these owners recover their goods, but generally the criminals are apprehended as well.

One Florida man recently fell victim to GPS tracking. After he stole six computers from an Apple store, damaging the store in the process, owners of the store put their GPS tracking systems into action. Each computer contained a GPS device as well as another device which caused the computer to take a picture of the thief as soon as he turned the laptop on. Police were able to find the items stolen, tracking them to a former Apple security officer recently let go from his position.

Of course GPS tracking theft prevention is not limited to only computers. GPS devices can keep other valuables–jewelry, other electronics, and appliances for example–safe. Also, not only does it protect smaller valuables, but many families and business use these devices to protect their vehicles. In fact, according to at least one source, these devices may make auto theft a thing of the past.

Of course, many families and businesses may feel GPS tracking is expensive enough and their own risk of theft low enough to make purchasing the devices impractical. While there may be some truth to this though, protection against criminals generally does cost money and no one can know whether they’ll ever need the protection, these same people may find themselves wishing they’d acted differently. Better to be prepared now then sorry later. Whether you own a business and want to protect your merchandise or privately own possessions of sentimental or monetary value, protect your goods now. Don’t regret your lack of foresight later.