The Long Beam of the Law Catches Car Thieves With Tracking System

Three high-tech tracking systems aimed at curbing the nation’s $7-billion auto theft problem are being introduced this year in Orange County, where an average of 50 vehicles are reported stolen every day.

Police say the new devices will enable officers to track and arrest car thieves, often within minutes after a car is reported stolen.

“We’re very impressed with the technology,” said Orange County Assistant Sheriff Dennis LaDucer, who studied Teletrac, one of three tracking systems angling for the county market.

For nearly a year, vehicle tracking systems have cropped up in several large U.S. metropolitan areas, resulting in dozens of arrests. U.S. law enforcement officials have hailed the devices as powerful weapons in combating vehicle thefts.

“This technology is one of the best things to happen to law enforcement in a long time,” said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Dennis Meyer, who is a consultant with the National Automobile Theft Bureau. “It gives us another tool for our kit.”

He added that the technology also gives police a tactical advantage, because they can track thieves without them knowing.

“There’s a big safety factor for the officers,” Meyer said, “because they have prior knowledge of the situation. . . . They’ll be prepared.”

Auto thefts have been an increasing problem for U.S. police agencies, with more than 1.5 million vehicles reported stolen in 1989, the latest year for which figures are available, according to the theft bureau. California had the highest number of stolen vehicles in the nation in 1989, 295,000; Orange County ranked behind only Los Angeles and San Diego counties in the state, with nearly 20,000 cars reported stolen.

Local law enforcement officials said they hope the new technology will work as a deterrence. “If we start catching (auto thieves) in the act, others might think twice about stealing a car,” said Huntington Beach Police Lt. Bruce Kelly, who looked into the tracking systems for his department.

The county’s first system, made by CodeAlarm, quietly debuted in January and is being followed by Teletrac, which will begin operation Monday. LoJack, a system operating in Los Angeles, is expected to be available here in the summer.

The three systems--which each require a unique partnership among consumers, police and the private sector--vary in technology, capability and price.

CodeAlarm’s Intercept system works on a motorist’s cellular phone line and automatically calls the company’s command monitoring center in Michigan when the vehicle is broken into and moved. Dispatchers at the command center then call the appropriate police agency with information about the vehicle and pinpoint its whereabouts.

The system uses a transmitting device similar to those used for navigation in boats and aircraft.

The advantages of Intercept, said CodeAlarm officials, are that vehicles can be tracked in larger geographical areas than the others; it can automatically shut off power to the engine, and it can be manually triggered in an emergency.

The system is also the most expensive of the three, starting at about $1,500 for the unit, along with $15 a month for the monitoring service.

In International Teletrac Systems, a radio signal is emitted when the car is started without the key or when theft-monitoring sensors are tripped. Within seconds, the signal is picked up by radio towers in the area and transmitted to the company’s dispatch center in Los Angeles, where the location of the car is plotted on a computerized map, then relayed to the proper police agency.

Teletrac can find a car within 100 feet, vice president of marketing Maurice Nieman said. “We can even tell you what side of the street it’s on,” he said.

The Inglewood-based company has also offered to provide local law enforcement agencies with computer software to track stolen vehicles directly, at no cost to the departments. Huntington Beach and Santa Ana police, the California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Department have accepted the software. Other agencies are taking a wait-and-see stance.

Teletrac devices, manufactured by four electronics companies, cost the consumer about $900 and up, retailers said. In addition, Teletrac charges from $11 to $15 per month for its 24-hour monitoring service. There is also a $50 initial activation charge.

The third system--LoJack--has been operating in Los Angeles County since July. Company officials plan to move into Orange County by summer.

Since its activation in Los Angeles, 23 cars equipped with LoJack have been stolen; all were recovered by police “quickly and with little or no damage,” a company spokesman said.

LoJack uses a different type of homing device than the others and is tracked from specially equipped patrol units.

Company officials said one of the major advantages of their product is affordability. LoJack systems are priced at about $595, with no monthly service charges.

Some law enforcement officials have expressed concern that the cost of these systems may be prohibitive for many motorists.

“These systems will only be as good as the number of people who have them installed in their cars,” said LaDucer of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

On Thursday, top state law officers held a press conference and urged the public to consider buying the high-tech trackers.

CHP Commissioner Maury J. Hannigan released a study of Teletrac conducted by his agency from Aug. 6 to Nov. 9, which showed a 99.53% stolen vehicle recovery rate. He added that CHP officials are testing the LoJack system. CodeAlarm officials said they will soon be giving demonstrations of their system to local law enforcement agencies.

“When the use of these innovative anti-theft systems and devices becomes commonplace,” Hannigan said, “it’s not difficult to foresee a time when vehicle theft will cease to be a major factor in the California crime scene.”

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

In a state that leads the nation with the most stolen vehicles, Orange County ranks as the third-most-victimized county, behind Los Angeles and San Diego. Here is a breakdown on the number of thefts and the percentage of stolen vehicles by population.

Motor Rate 1989 Vehicle Per Jurisdiction Population Thefts 1,000 Anaheim 251,146 3,017 12.0 Brea 33,945 218 6.4 Buena Park 68,414 1,040 15.2 Costa Mesa 93,111 987 10.6 Cypress 44,446 234 5.3 Fountain Valley 57,800 425 7.4 Fullerton 112,645 1,055 9.4 Garden Grove 138,891 1,768 12.7 Huntington Beach 191,826 1,116 5.8 Irvine 102,780 522 5.1 Laguna Beach 19,955 120 6.0 La Habra 50,051 286 5.7 Los Alamitos 12,400 71 5.7 Newport Beach 70,888 385 5.4 Orange 108,508 848 7.8 Placentia 41,777 170 4.1 San Clemente 39,776 247 6.2 Santa Ana 245,880 3,825 15.6 Seal Beach 27,663 110 4.0 Tustin 44,292 421 9.5 Westminster 75,261 879 11.7 Sheriff n/a 1,611 ---

Source: California attorney general’s office and U.S. Department of Justice