Police Department Uses MOBILELOCK to Track and Recover $237,500.00 in Stolen Construction Equipment in Less Than Two Months

In Febraury 2007, the Will County Sheriff's Department of Illinois along with the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force combined resources to address a widespread issue typically overlooked - jobsite theft. The task force implemented three MOBILELOCK units to identify areas of frequent jobsite theft, capture the thieves and recover the stolen assets. Within two months of using the MOBILELOCK units, the task force caught nine thieves and recovered approximately $237,500.00 in stolen heavy construction equipment.

How the System Works

To help professional contractors better protect mobile assets on jobsites, DEWALT, a leading manufacturer of industrial power tools, developed the MOBILELOCK GPS Locator and Anti-Theft Alarm that features state-of-the-art locating capabilities. The MOBILELOCK product is a stand alone, portable, wireless locating and alarm system that is easily mounted to equipment using integrated heavy-duty magnets or fastening the unit into place using screws. Unlike other mobile asset protection systems that use radio frequency to locate stolen assets, MOBILELOCK features a GPS locator that can help users find stolen or lost assets in real time.

The four sensors built into the MOBILELOCK unit, tamper sensor, door contact sensor, vibration sensor and temperature sensor, can be programmed individually through a phone or the MOBILELOCK website to monitor the mobile asset. If an intruder tries to enter a secured area, disturb a piece of protected equipment, or remove the unit from the asset, the alarm activates and a signal is sent over the cellular network.

If the MOBILELOCK protected asset is disturbed, the alarm is triggered and the user receives a phone call, text message or email notifying them that there has been a security breach. The user can log onto the MOBILELOCKTM website, enter their personal pass code and then access street maps or satellite imagery showing the approximate location of the MOBILELOCKTM unit. This enables users to quickly recover stolen or lost assets.

Will County Sheriff Department Uses MOBILELOCK to Save Time on Auto Theft Investigations Auto theft, specifically the loss of heavy construction equipment on jobsites, is often a disregarded crime; however, heavy equipment dealers, insurance agencies, rental and equipment owners are among the many victims when jobsite theft strikes. The Will County Sheriff's Department combined with the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force to start a joint operation to crack down on jobsite theft. After hearing about MOBILELOCK from a source in the cellular industry, the task force activated three units to monitor and protect mobile assets on jobsites. Law enforcement officers placed the MOBILELOCK sensors on heavy construction equipment and frequently rotated them from one area to the next in order to identify regions of high criminal activity.

The MOBILELOCK sensors were installed in February 2007, and by April nine thieves were caught - all within one hour of being notified that a piece of protected equipment was disturbed. For years, the law enforcement officers of Will County relied on informant-based investigation, often requiring months of a time-consuming process that could never guarantee the burglar would be caught or the stolen asset recovered. With the help of MOBILELOCK, such investigations are resolved within an hour, mainly due to the GPS technology communicating in real time. The thefts of the nine thieves amounted to approximately $237,500.00 in stolen construction equipment - all of which was recovered by MOBILELOCK technology.

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