Thieves Track Down GPS Units — Reverse GPS?
Dozens of Car Navigation Devices Stolen in N.Va.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 13, 2006; Page B01Thieves once slinked among parked cars mostly in search of stereos they could easily pilfer. As technology progressed, they snatched cellphones and air bags and laptops. Now, police said, satellite-based navigation devices have emerged as the new gadget of choice.More than 50 dashboard-mounted Global Positioning System receivers have been stolen from parked cars in Alexandria and Arlington County since January, and police are urging motorists to hide the units, which range in price from $200 to nearly $3,000… Full Article Here:
An interesting article to attempt to show the two sides that apply to every story. In my unbridled enthusiasm for all things GPS I guess I have never considered the consequence that it might make a car a more likely target for crime. I should have thought of this, with a memory going back to the days when stolen 8 tracks were the hottest item down at “Sam’s Seedy Garage”.
Just points out the old saw, I suppose, that “There is nothing new under the sun”. Take care of expensive GPS navigators the same way you’d take care of other expensive “toys”. Also, never depend on the intelligence of crooks. You’re working with what are mostly the failures of an already failed school system, further altered by drugs. Just a few months ago my next-door neighbor’s car was broken into. She had an expensive, factory in-dash stereo, the kind with the separate faceplate that doesn’t work without the faceplate, and where the faceplate is only useable with the unit it was ‘married” to when built. Well, three guesses what the thieves took, and the first two don’t count … yup, the faceplate by itself. useless to them. D’oh you might say.
I think I have to throw out a SatViz Kudo to Jamie Stockwell, the original writer on this. Thieves once “slinked”? It sounded totally wrong to me, but I looked it up …and of course (hey it’s the Washington Post, after all) it is of course absolutely correct.