Victoria car theft crackdown: GPS trackers to be hidden in vehicles
LATEST: TRACKERS will be fitted to hundreds of cars in a $500,000 “game-changing” police trial that could pave the way for GPS to be added to every car in Victoria. Here’s why.
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HI-TECH trackers will be fitted in hundreds of luxury cars in high risk suburbs in a $500,000 experiment starting later this year.
RELATED: VICTORIANS USING GPS TRACKERS TO COMBAT CAR THIEVES
The Herald Sun revealed today that Victoria Police hopes the trackers will eventually be fitted to every car in the state in a “game-changing” move.
The trial will be rolled out as early as September.
The trackers will be synched with a car owner’s mobile phone.
Once a car is moved from a preset location the owner will get an alert which gives them an option to notify Victoria Police directly.
Officers will then track the stolen vehicles in real time through a $15 million monitoring hub.
Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill told the Herald Sun: “I would call it a game-changer. It’s a more sophisticated way to deal with vehicle theft. Using this and other new technologies could potentially eliminate vehicle theft.”
Ray Carroll, Executive Director of the National Motor Theft Reduction Council, said: “We are trying to deter potential offenders from the cars which they like to steal.”
The trackers will be roughly half the size of a matchbox and can be installed anywhere in a vehicle.
The devices will be hidden in different places in vehicles, so thieves will have no idea that they are being traced.
The trackers will enable police to pinpoint a vehicle’s location to within a few metres.
People will have the option to take part in the trial when they buy a new car.
The next phase of the scheme will see Victoria Police work together with the companies which make the trackers and the motor manufacturing industry to install the technology in more cars.
Car thefts have fallen in the past six months.
But more than 15,800 have been stolen in Victoria in the past year, at a cost of about $170 million.
Victoria Police command believes the use of GPS technology could also drive down associated crimes, such as aggravated burglaries and armed robberies.
A thousand trackers will be hardwired into a range of vehicles during the 12-month pilot program.
If the vehicle is stolen, the owner activates the tracker using a mobile phone and rings 000 to alert police.
Officers can then track the vehicle in real time.
“It’s just like tracking a mobile phone,’’ Mr Hill said.
“Our members will be alerted to the vehicle’s exact location and intervene when it is safe to do so.
“People who continue to steal cars will be apprehended and put before the courts on a far more regular basis than ever before,” he said.
“When the criminal element of our society appreciate and understand the likelihood of them being apprehended is very, very high then that will deter them.”
National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council executive director Ray Carroll, whose organisation is part of the pilot program, said the GPS initiative placed Victoria as a world leader.
NMVTRC figures show an average of 43 cars a day are stolen in Victoria.
“As far as I know, no one has actually moved to what we are trying to do, which is integrate the industry sector direct with the police systems,’’ Mr Carroll said.
“There are some real advantages with this technology — it has got huge potential.”
“Penalties that come with a big stick are only going to have an influence on people’s behaviour if there is an expectation that they’re actually going to get caught.”
Mr Carroll said the pilot was mindful of ensuring privacy issues were addressed.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said Victoria had posted some of its lowest vehicle theft rates in a number of years.
“This is a great initiative. This trial will help determine what else needs to be done to further reduce the rate of motor vehicle thefts,” the minister said.
Western Australia had just concluded a two-year trial of such technology in 700 vehicles, but countries overseas mostly relied on private providers rather than on direct involvement from police.
A quarter of cars are never recovered, destined for illegal scrap metal, shipped overseas or rebirthed.
Mr Hill said stolen cars were often used in crimes such as burglaries, armed robberies and drive-by shootings, and the idea had the potential to drive down those crimes too.
“In the years to come, with technological advancements, we will see this as a standard fit to a motor car.”
Later phases of the pilot program will look at incorporating trackers from different manufacturers and include consultation with car makers.