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May 13, 2008 6:10 pm US/Eastern
Lawrence Police Fish For GPS Thieves
LAWRENCE (WBZ) ―
As GPS thefts continue to increase, police have come up with a tricky plan to catch the robbers in the act.
Some of the hot spots for GPS thieves are on Broadway and neighborhoods across the city, which is where Lawrence police planted GPS units on the windshield of a car, trying to see if a thief would come along and take the bait.
Officer Harold Rogers dressed as a cable guy and climbed out of his work van, walked around the neighborhood and left the GPS in clear view.
"You can see the GPS from 20 to 30 feet away. They're in and out and it's gone," said Detective Carl Farrington with the Lawrence Police Department. "Even if you're the cable guy at the next pole you'll never catch them."
"It's not just Lawrence but it's nationwide," said Lawrence Police Chief John Romero. "It's a problem with GPS being stolen. What people are doing is walking around parking lots, looking for vehicles with GPS, smash the window and steal it and sell it for drugs."
Police switched out the cars to keep the criminals on their toes. On Tuesday, they used a van and a Mazda and then they just waited to see if anyone would bite.
When a bait car was planted on Park Street last week police say Carlos Cruz was caught in the act. He allegedly grabbed the navigation unit and took off.
"Within 20 minutes a guy out of the blue saw it and went for it in the vehicle," Farrington said.
"This year alone we've seen somewhere in the area of 50 (thefts) since January," Romero said.
That's why police are out fishing and they want criminals to know.
"The message is the vehicle you're stealing a GPS from may be a bait vehicle," Romero said.
And that means plenty of cops are just around the corner waiting to reel the thieves in.
Police urge drivers who have a GPS unit in their car to take it with them when they are not driving or hide it.
Drivers may even want to wipe the ring marks from the suction cups so there's no sign of it in the car. Stolen GPS units sell for about $50 each on the street.
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