Thieves find way to GPS units in cars
By Richard Willing, USA TODAY
Thieves might not want to steal your car as much as the high-tech stuff you carry in it — digital BlackBerries, iPods and especially your fancy GPS system, according to the FBI.
The most recent crime statistics show that motor vehicle theft last year remained nearly the same as in 2004. But thefts of parts and accessories from vehicles, including high-intensity xenon headlights and Global Positioning System devices, has jumped 30% since 2000, the FBI reports.
Such thefts — 1.78 million of them — were the fastest growing category of larceny in 2004, the most recent year for which a breakdown is available. That trend has continued over the past year in several places, including Dallas; Arlington, Va.; Hackensack, N.J.; and Orange County, Calif.
"We've started to see a pattern," says Mary Garrand, crime analyst for police in Alexandria, Va., where thieves have stolen more than two dozen GPS units from parked cars this year. "GPS in particular is the new story. They are being targeted."
Thefts from cars of iPods, BlackBerries, portable DVD players and other devices also are increasing. Such thefts increased about 10% from 2000 to 2004 to about 642,000 incidents, according to the FBI's annual estimate.
Global positioning systems use space satellites to plot a vehicle's precise position and to help drivers navigate unfamiliar routes. Many are small enough to fit in a coat pocket and can be attached by suction cups to a windshield or dashboard. They range in price from $500 to over $2,600.
Xenon headlights project a high-intensity beam and retail for about $1,500 a set. They are often seen on late-model Mercedes Benzes, Audis and Nissans.
Experts say thefts of vehicles have declined as tracking devices and radio-controlled ignition locks have become standard features. At the same time, radios and other devices that thieves used to target have become less desirable. Manufacturers, says former FBI agent Frank Scafidi, now can program radios to work only in the vehicle in which they are originally installed.
"Bad guys find out things like that quickly," says Scafidi, now a spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
GPS systems, in contrast, are small and far easier to steal.
"There's no wires to cut or screw to pull out (as with) a radio," says Capt. John O'Leary of the Brookline, Mass., police, which has investigated a rash of the thefts. "You just pop off the suction cups."
Thieves might not want to steal your car as much as the high-tech stuff you carry in it — digital BlackBerries, iPods and especially your fancy GPS system, according to the FBI.
The most recent crime statistics show that motor vehicle theft last year remained nearly the same as in 2004. But thefts of parts and accessories from vehicles, including high-intensity xenon headlights and Global Positioning System devices, has jumped 30% since 2000, the FBI reports.
Such thefts — 1.78 million of them — were the fastest growing category of larceny in 2004, the most recent year for which a breakdown is available. That trend has continued over the past year in several places, including Dallas; Arlington, Va.; Hackensack, N.J.; and Orange County, Calif.
"We've started to see a pattern," says Mary Garrand, crime analyst for police in Alexandria, Va., where thieves have stolen more than two dozen GPS units from parked cars this year. "GPS in particular is the new story. They are being targeted."
Thefts from cars of iPods, BlackBerries, portable DVD players and other devices also are increasing. Such thefts increased about 10% from 2000 to 2004 to about 642,000 incidents, according to the FBI's annual estimate.
Global positioning systems use space satellites to plot a vehicle's precise position and to help drivers navigate unfamiliar routes. Many are small enough to fit in a coat pocket and can be attached by suction cups to a windshield or dashboard. They range in price from $500 to over $2,600.
Xenon headlights project a high-intensity beam and retail for about $1,500 a set. They are often seen on late-model Mercedes Benzes, Audis and Nissans.
Experts say thefts of vehicles have declined as tracking devices and radio-controlled ignition locks have become standard features. At the same time, radios and other devices that thieves used to target have become less desirable. Manufacturers, says former FBI agent Frank Scafidi, now can program radios to work only in the vehicle in which they are originally installed.
"Bad guys find out things like that quickly," says Scafidi, now a spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
GPS systems, in contrast, are small and far easier to steal.
"There's no wires to cut or screw to pull out (as with) a radio," says Capt. John O'Leary of the Brookline, Mass., police, which has investigated a rash of the thefts. "You just pop off the suction cups."
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