Government Technology - June 2008 - (Page 42)

justice S TAT E | L O C A L | F E D E R A L j j Synopsis: The Sacramento, Calif., Police Department keeps auto thieves on their toes by tempting them with bait cars. Taking Sacramento Calif., Police Department tempts auto thieves with bait cars. Agency: Sacramento Police Department. Technologies: GPS. Contact: Sgt. Matt Young, Sacramento Police Department, myoung@ pd.cityofsacramento. org, 916/808-0808. theBait T he bait might be a Toyota, Honda or Acura. It looks like any other car, but it’s not. It’s abandoned in a neighborhood plagued by a rash of car thefts. If and when — usually when — a thief decides to take the bait, that’s when the fun begins. When the thief drives away with the bait car, he may think he’s gotten away because there might not be police in the area. But starting or tampering with the car activates a hidden GPS tracking system and alerts the police command center, which immediately begins monitoring the vehicle and alerts nearby police units. “When an activation has occurred, the information is transmitted to the dispatcher. She gets units rolling, gives them a description of the car, the direction of travel and speed,” explained Ben Gomez, a detective in the Office of Investigations for the Sacramento Calif., Police Department. “The issue here is increasing safety for the suspect and the officers. We don’t want any pursuits.” Patrol units locate and stop the vehicle. If the occupant decides to flee in the car, the officer can instruct the dispatcher to shut down the vehicle, which will bring it to a gradual stop. If necessary, the dispatcher can also lock the bait car’s doors, keeping the thief inside as officers approach. at times, result in death or injury to innocent people. That’s the last thing we want to see, but we still have to go out and make arrests and find these guys out there committing these types of crimes. This program allows us to do that very efficiently.” Police now maintain their usual patrols while the bait car and its technology are positioned in a strategic location. “The beauty of the bait car, the way we use it with the tracking system, is such that it uses minimal resources while deployed. At the time of theft when the activa- Intangible Benefit “The benefit to the public is not tangible because [the theft] never occurs, but it’s huge,” said Sgt. Matt Young of the Sacramento Police Department. “As everyone knows, some of these high-speed pursuits are extremely dangerous, and unfortunately, “We want the bad guys to know [the bait cars are] out there, but at the same time, we don’t want them to know how many and what they look like.” Ben Gomez, detective, Office of Investigations, Sacramento, Calif., Police Department JUNE_08 JAN_08 In the early days — the bait car concept was introduced in the 1990s — the operation involved a regular car and police to physically monitor it. It was labor-intensive and took cops away from their normal patrols. tion occurs, dispatch receives that information, makes the broadcast and officers respond, locate the vehicle and make the arrest,” Gomez said. “We identify locations of either vehicle thefts or areas where the vehicles are being 42 BY J I M M c KAY | J U S T I C E A N D P U B L I C S A F E T Y E D I T O R PHOTO BY JESSICA JONES http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - June 2008

Government Technology - June 2008 Contents Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions For... 3 Technologies That May Change Your Job ...And Your Life Loosening Medicaid's Grip Better Living Through Technology Immersive Itineraries Help Yourself Taking the Bait Shared Connection Up Close Spectrum Products Personal Computing signal:noise Digital Communities Contents Digital Tactics for a U.S. Recession E-Dilemma Stifling Community Innovation Leadership Interview Estonia Becomes E-Stonia If It Were Up to Me …

Government Technology - June 2008

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