6/16/2005
Insurers
may soon see a decrease in auto theft claims as recent initiatives
by B.C. police take flight, right along with criminals in the act.
According to media reports, lower mainland B.C. police have
implemented a fleet of 'bait cars,' which were employed about a year
ago to fight the auto theft epidemic.
According to reports, this
initiative has resulted in a 15% (or 2,000 vehicles) reduction of
car thefts and aided in the imprisonment of repeat offenders.
Insurance for each stolen vehicle is set at $4,500 therefore, police
report the bait cars offer an estimated savings of $9
million.
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia says it
has spent about $3 million since 2002 on the Vancouver pilot project
and the expanded bait-car program across the lower
mainland.
Currently, only the Halton police force has kept the
bait car program in use. Although a number of GTA (greater Toronto
area) forces were, at one point, using the system, budget restraints
forced the programs closure.
The most recent development in the
"hook, line and sinker" program is the launch of www.baitcar.com - a
website that airs crooks in the hot seat during the attempted theft
of a 'bait car.'
'Bait cars' are equipped with cameras, satellite
tracking systems and ignition controls that aid police at catching
are using 'bait cars' equipped with video, satellite tracking to
catch thieves in the act. The mechanics behind are as follows - a
camera, hidden in the passenger seat, records the crime in action; a
police car is alerted by bait dispatchers and picks up the trail of
the stolen vehicle; and, a global positioning system and camera
monitor the ensuing events allowing the monitors to cut the ignition
at any given moment. Bait-car regulations follow that ignitions are
to be disabled if a thief tries to elude police or drives
erratically, inducing risk. Other legal requirements for a bait car
include, for example, the necessity to post signs of the presence of
a bait car in a mall parking lot. Minneapolis instigated the
bait-car program and subsequently saw theft drop by 40% between '97
and '99.
