GPS Tracking Sting Helps Deputies Combat Trailer Theft
28 Mar 2014NewsOn6.com – Tulsa, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports – KOTV.com |
Rogers County, OK sheriff department hopes to incorporate more GPS tracking technology after successfully tracking down a thief.
Global positioning systems (GPS) have been used for a wide range of uses in recent years, expanding far beyond traditional navigational benefits. One of these benefits includes tracking commonly stolen items that help lead law enforcement to the location of a would be thief. The Green Country Sheriff Department in Oklahoma is now considering using even more GPS tracking units due to a recent successful sting operation that led to the arrest of a stolen trailer.
In Oklahoma, the theft of trailers is considered an epidemic due to how often they are being stolen. These trailers are not only easy for criminals to steal, but very difficult to track down after the criminal successfully leaves the driveway with one. However, now there is a new way to track them down and catch the thieves, thanks to GPS tracking technology.
The sting operation in question occurred when Penni Leach’s storage unit was broken into by cutting into the unit’s lock, then loading all of her stored belongings onto a stolen trailer. Lucky for Leach, the stolen trailer was already being tracked by the local police department as part of this sting operation.
Tracking the stolen trailer, the deputies of the Roger County Sheriff Department found the criminals with Leach’s personal belongings in their arms, being hauled into a home. The criminals were caught red handed and arrested for breaking and entering, and theft.
Due to the success of this operation, the sheriff’s department intends to plant more GPS tracking devices on items and vehicles known to be stolen by criminals. It is an effort to catch these common criminals and avoid further attacks and crimes of innocent residents.
Scott Walton, a sheriff in Rogers County, told reporters, “Technology has blessed us, as far as the ability to use our resources to catch thugs.”
As of now, the sheriff department is keeping the exact location of their new tracking devices a secret, within reason. They want to catch unknowing criminals and put them behind bars, without giving away their secrets. They have the benefit of criminals not knowing what these tracking devices look like, where they are located, and how they work.
However, while they will not reveal their exact location or how to spot them, the police department is making it fully aware that tracking technology exists and hopefully some individuals think twice before trying to commit another crime.
As for Leach, she is just happy the theft was part of a sting operation, and she didn’t lose her precious family memories.
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