Thieves have no trouble finding GPS devices in cars
From: The Journal News.com, Westchester, N.Y.
From cell phones to air bags, xenon headlights to iPods, if it's in or on your car, chances are someone is looking to steal it.
The latest gadgets coveted by drivers and targeted by thieves are portable global positioning systems that use satellites to plot a vehicle's exact position and help motorists find their way.
"It's the big thing right now,'' said Detective Sgt. Scott Sullivan, commander of the Westchester County police crime analysis unit. "They're being stolen from cars parked at train stations and shopping centers. Thefts of these devices are on the rise nationwide — it's a new toy and there's a demand for it.''
GPS thefts have been reported throughout the Lower Hudson Valley, Long Island, southern Connecticut and northern New Jersey, said Sullivan, whose unit serves as a conduit for information about crimes in the region. Nationally, the FBI said thefts of hi-tech gadgets from vehicles, including GPS devices, have jumped 30 percent since 2000.
Locally, reports of thefts have been increasing steadily in the past two years. In recent months, GPS units have been reported stolen in Ramapo, Yonkers, Greenburgh, Southeast, Croton Falls, Mamaroneck and New Castle. Although arrests have been made in a few of the cases, the police expect the trend to continue.
"It's definitely on the rise,'' Sullivan said. "My instincts, based on the volume of thefts we're seeing, is that people are cruising parking lots and taking as many as they can find and then selling them.''
The add-on GPS unit, costing between $500 and $1,200 and made by companies such as Garmin, TomTom and Magellan, is attractive to thieves because it's easy to steal and easy to sell, the police said.
"They're portable and you don't need to subscribe to any kind of service to use them,'' said Capt. Daniel Daly of the Yonkers police. He said five GPS units have been reported stolen from cars in the city since Sept. 5. "If someone steals your cell phone, you can have the service turned off. You can't do that with a GPS unit. They can be used immediately, in any car.''
GPS systems installed in the dashboard by car dealers are more difficult to steal. But the more popular models use a suction cup device that's attached to a windshield or dashboard. The suction brackets allow owners -— and thieves — to remove the unit in a few seconds. In many cases, the police said, owners hide the GPS in their glove compartments or on the floor under a seat, but leave the bracket up. Even if an owner takes the unit with them, the suction device is an invitation for thieves to break in.
"That's what they look for,'' Daly said. "The brackets are easily spotted and they attract thieves. If they see it attached to the windshield, that's a car they're going to hit.''
Investigators say the thieves can smash a window, grab the GPS or other items left in a car, and be gone in less than a minute. While the units do come with serial numbers, the police said, owners rarely write them down, which makes it more difficult to identify a stolen device if it is recovered.
Most of the thefts occur in large parking lots because of the number of potential targets. In March, two Bronx men were arrested after they took a train to the Croton Falls station, broke into several cars there, got back on a train and got off in Southeast, where they were apprehended, the police said. A number of GPS devices and other items believed to have been stolen were recovered.
The MTA police and the state police at Somers and Brewster are continuing to investigate thefts from Harlem Line commuter lots in Putnam and northern West-chester.
In Greenburgh, where 15 GPS thefts have been reported this year, Miguel Pagan, 25, and Robert Dipini, 30, both of the Bronx, were arrested last week on charges of grand larceny and criminal mischief, both felonies, and possession of burglar's tools, a misdemeanor.
A woman told the police she saw two men breaking into cars at a Central Avenue shopping center. Pagan and DiPini are accused of smashing the windows of three cars and taking two GPS units and an iPod, the police said. Merchandise that had been reported stolen from the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers was found in their car, the police said.
"We believe that this was their job,'' said Capt. Joseph DeLio, commander of the Greenburgh police Detective Division.
DeLio and Daly said their departments would share information on thefts that occur in the massive parking lots along the Central Avenue shopping corridor.
"They're attractive targets and the thieves don't know about jurisdictional boundaries,'' Daly said. "It just makes sense for us to work together on something like this.''
DeLio agreed, saying he expects GPS devices to remain high on the list of items sought by thieves.
"They're the latest thing, and every time something new comes along, there's a market for it. As long as there's a demand, there will be people who steal to fill that demand,'' he said.
From cell phones to air bags, xenon headlights to iPods, if it's in or on your car, chances are someone is looking to steal it.
The latest gadgets coveted by drivers and targeted by thieves are portable global positioning systems that use satellites to plot a vehicle's exact position and help motorists find their way.
"It's the big thing right now,'' said Detective Sgt. Scott Sullivan, commander of the Westchester County police crime analysis unit. "They're being stolen from cars parked at train stations and shopping centers. Thefts of these devices are on the rise nationwide — it's a new toy and there's a demand for it.''
GPS thefts have been reported throughout the Lower Hudson Valley, Long Island, southern Connecticut and northern New Jersey, said Sullivan, whose unit serves as a conduit for information about crimes in the region. Nationally, the FBI said thefts of hi-tech gadgets from vehicles, including GPS devices, have jumped 30 percent since 2000.
Locally, reports of thefts have been increasing steadily in the past two years. In recent months, GPS units have been reported stolen in Ramapo, Yonkers, Greenburgh, Southeast, Croton Falls, Mamaroneck and New Castle. Although arrests have been made in a few of the cases, the police expect the trend to continue.
"It's definitely on the rise,'' Sullivan said. "My instincts, based on the volume of thefts we're seeing, is that people are cruising parking lots and taking as many as they can find and then selling them.''
The add-on GPS unit, costing between $500 and $1,200 and made by companies such as Garmin, TomTom and Magellan, is attractive to thieves because it's easy to steal and easy to sell, the police said.
"They're portable and you don't need to subscribe to any kind of service to use them,'' said Capt. Daniel Daly of the Yonkers police. He said five GPS units have been reported stolen from cars in the city since Sept. 5. "If someone steals your cell phone, you can have the service turned off. You can't do that with a GPS unit. They can be used immediately, in any car.''
GPS systems installed in the dashboard by car dealers are more difficult to steal. But the more popular models use a suction cup device that's attached to a windshield or dashboard. The suction brackets allow owners -— and thieves — to remove the unit in a few seconds. In many cases, the police said, owners hide the GPS in their glove compartments or on the floor under a seat, but leave the bracket up. Even if an owner takes the unit with them, the suction device is an invitation for thieves to break in.
"That's what they look for,'' Daly said. "The brackets are easily spotted and they attract thieves. If they see it attached to the windshield, that's a car they're going to hit.''
Investigators say the thieves can smash a window, grab the GPS or other items left in a car, and be gone in less than a minute. While the units do come with serial numbers, the police said, owners rarely write them down, which makes it more difficult to identify a stolen device if it is recovered.
Most of the thefts occur in large parking lots because of the number of potential targets. In March, two Bronx men were arrested after they took a train to the Croton Falls station, broke into several cars there, got back on a train and got off in Southeast, where they were apprehended, the police said. A number of GPS devices and other items believed to have been stolen were recovered.
The MTA police and the state police at Somers and Brewster are continuing to investigate thefts from Harlem Line commuter lots in Putnam and northern West-chester.
In Greenburgh, where 15 GPS thefts have been reported this year, Miguel Pagan, 25, and Robert Dipini, 30, both of the Bronx, were arrested last week on charges of grand larceny and criminal mischief, both felonies, and possession of burglar's tools, a misdemeanor.
A woman told the police she saw two men breaking into cars at a Central Avenue shopping center. Pagan and DiPini are accused of smashing the windows of three cars and taking two GPS units and an iPod, the police said. Merchandise that had been reported stolen from the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers was found in their car, the police said.
"We believe that this was their job,'' said Capt. Joseph DeLio, commander of the Greenburgh police Detective Division.
DeLio and Daly said their departments would share information on thefts that occur in the massive parking lots along the Central Avenue shopping corridor.
"They're attractive targets and the thieves don't know about jurisdictional boundaries,'' Daly said. "It just makes sense for us to work together on something like this.''
DeLio agreed, saying he expects GPS devices to remain high on the list of items sought by thieves.
"They're the latest thing, and every time something new comes along, there's a market for it. As long as there's a demand, there will be people who steal to fill that demand,'' he said.
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