Tracking Thieves with GPS

By Lindy Thackston, First Coast News

OCALA, FL -- Construction site thefts are so high in Marion County, detectives are given a new case nearly every day.

But even Captain James Pogue with the Marion County Sheriff's Office was surprised to find a home under construction with the garage and windows unlocked, and the front door wide open.

"Eventually the cost of construction site theft gets passed on to the consumer, and you and I pay for it in the end," said Capt. Pogue.

So the Sheriff's Office teamed up with area builders.

Captain Pogue says the Sheriff's Office task force is netting some arrests.

"We may put things out there and wait for it to be stolen so we can capture people," said Capt. Pogue. "We may target two or three construction sites and wait for someone to come and steal something from them."

The stings are working, and now they have a new approach.

Random GPS devices are put on items at construction sites.

The Global Positioning System devices are tiny and hidden, and they sit dormant until they're removed from their invisible fence, which is a perimeter of about 15 feet.

"It will actually let us know that hey, I'm being moved, and then we can go to our computer and start actually tracking the device," said Capt. Pogue.

The battery inside the GPS device lasts up to one month.

Every appliance, even without a GPS device, has a warning label on it so criminals won't know if they're being tracked or not.

The GPS devices are removed from the items once the homes are transferred to the new owner.

Many area builders are now waiting to install appliances until the new homeowner takes over to lower the risk of theft.