GPS Trackers could save your life!
Date: Sunday, September 28 @ 03:09:46 UTC
Topic:


Four teenagers accused of carjacking a taxi early today found out the vehicles have more than the ubiquitous air freshener. San Antonio police said they were able to track down the juveniles using a global positioning system in the 1999 Dodge Caravan that the youths took from a driver after one stabbed him. Yellow Cab driver Albert Esquivel, 53, was in good condition at Wilford Hall Medical Center and was scheduled to be kept overnight for observation, according to a hospital spokesman. He was stabbed three times in the right shoulder and his right ring finger, police said. Click READ MORE for more information on this news story

Comments ?

A police report said Esquivel pulled the cab over and got out after he was attacked about 4 a.m. near West Commerce Street by four teens he picked up at an apartment complex on Culebra Road near Callaghan Road. He was taken to the hospital by a passerby.

Yellow Cab dispatchers used the cab's GPS system to help lead police to a location near Memorial High School.

The four juveniles, whose names were withheld, were apprehended after a short foot-chase, said police spokesman Sgt. Gabe Trevino. They will be charged with aggravated robbery.

Officials at Yellow Cab did not return calls seeking comment, but police said cab companies use GPS as part of fleet-management systems that help make dispatching easier.

Police also are using the technology and other high-tech anti-theft devices to find stolen vehicles.

A new study released this summer by the Palos Hills, Ill.-based National Insurance Crime Bureau ranked the San Antonio metropolitan area 86th in the country in terms of stolen vehicle rate. Nearly 6,900 cars were reported taken in 2002, and industry officials and officers say GPS or any other type of vehicle-tracking equipment increase chances of recovery.

Satellite-based systems give a specific location on a map at a company's home base, while other systems, like LoJack, which SAPD and other local departments use in some of their squad cars, use radio emissions to help officers track vehicle location.

“Either system is good,” said Sgt. Carthel W. Williams of SAPD's vehicle crimes unit. “The difference is in cost, but anything you can do to protect your property is a good investment.”

Nationally, police using LoJack have a 90-percent recovery rate, said Paul McMahon, director of corporate communications for Westwood, Mass.-based company.

“We've had a lot of success,” McMahon said.

Comments ?





This article comes from Pocket GPS World - SatNavs | GPS | Speed Cameras
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com

The URL for this story is:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=63