GPS asset tracking has come to the rescue again. A couple of thieves were caught and arrested after police officers set up a GPS tracker trap that led them straight to the thieves apartment.

One of the stolen items that were retrieved was a nitrogen tank owned by Mid-South entrepreneur, Tommy Brown.

He filed a report with the police about his stolen nitrogen tank and it only took around 48 hours for them to find it and call him back.

Brown said he was called by the detective who stated that they might have his tank. Brown went to the police station to take a look and sure enough it was his tank.

The officers told Brown it was like putting cheese on a mouse trap to catch the two thieves. They simply placed a GPS tracked generator and leaf blower (the cheese) in a trailer and truck bed (the trap) and the thieves ‘bit’. Police said the thieves were James Warren and a female which was his accomplice.

GPS tracking allowed police to see how fast the thieves were going, where they we going and where they had come from. Therefore, the officers waited at their Nutbush community apartment for them to arrive. When the officers got there, however, there were so much stolen items at the apartment; they could hardly get in the door.

According to police, there were bicycles, tools, GPS’s, shop vac’s and phones stolen most likely from trucks and trailers. Other stolen items included a guitar and keyboard, chainsaws and skill saws. The total estimate of the stolen goods police found in the apartment was around $4,000.

Benefits of GPS

GPS tracking technology can help businesses track their valuable equipment and large machinery. However, over the recent years, there has been some major advancement in this technology allowing even smaller items to be tracked. GPS trackers make it easy for law enforcement to recover and return stolen items and arrest the thieves.

Construction and agriculture companies struggle with equipment theft as well, particularly those that have a lot of seasonal workers or temporary employees. Since securing things like heavy machinery and vehicles can be difficult using other methods, GPS tracking comes in handy.

Even though GPS tracking technology is often used by businesses to protect their assets, individuals can now use it to protect their valuable items. These days, just about anything can be tracked through GPS providing owners with real-time tracking data of their stolen items to help them recover them as soon as possible.

Contact us here at LiveView GPS if you have equipment, machinery, vehicles, or other assets that you would like tracked.

In 2015, there were over 880 cargo theft incidents with an over $175 million total value estimate of stolen cargo, according to the annual theft trend analysis put out from CargoNet. And 10 thefts equal to around $1 million each. Knowing these statistics, it’s a good idea to follow some helpful tips to protect your fleet cargo from thieves.

Tips to Protect you from Fleet Cargo Theft

1. Ensure you are up-to-date with your security protocols and follow the best practices of the industry.
2. Use transmission and brake locks and other tractor-locking mechanisms that immobilize your vehicle.
3. Use hardened padlocks, barrier seals that are ISO 17712 compliant, kingpin locks for preventing unauthorized hook ups and glad hand locks to keep trailer brakes from being released. All these devices help to protect your trailer.
4. Consider high-tech systems like GPS tracking devices, alert-sending devices, geofencing and other technology that helps track your trailer and alerts you when your cargo is being unloaded or trailer doors are being opened.
5. Before you leave the shipper’s facility, inspect your trailer and truck to reduce the chance of breaking down.
6. Ensure you have a full tank of fuel before arrive for pickups and drive a minimum of 250 miles before you stop. This reduces your risk of thieves stalking your truck and waiting for you to leave it unattended
7. Keep an eye out for vehicles that have out-of-state plates or multiple occupants who could be following you.
8. Don’t tell anyone what your cargo is or where your truck stops are. You should never post information like this online either since people could look for tipoffs by searching the web.
9. Park in a heavily traveled area that is lit up well and has security cameras when you need to stop. If you plan on stopping for a longer period of time, be sure you check your load and monitor it at each stop.
10. Don’t leave your cargo-filled truck on a roadside.
11. Never leave your keys in a location where people might be looking for them or inside your truck.
12. Avoid stopping at unsecured areas if possible and back your truck up against a fence, post or building to make it harder for thieves to open the trailer doors. Have an assistant with you if possible to watch your truck when you need to leave it unattended.
13. Don’t wait to report a theft to police officials and agencies. When you report it right away, you increase your chances of recovering it. When you report the theft within a couple hours, your odds of recovery are better, but decrease the longer you wait.
14. Keep all VINs, license-plate numbers and truck-trailer description information like its size, color and marks. You will need to turn this information over to law enforcement as well as any information collected from your GPS tracking system.
15. Stay up-to-date on cargo-theft trends by visiting CargoNet and learn the most popular tactics with thieves.

You might have a great insurance policy that covers your cargo, but there could be exemptions that could leave some of your valuable cargo uncovered. It’s important that you go over and learn your policy details so you know you are protected in full. And remember, having a good GPS tracking system installed in your fleet cargo can help authorities locate it in the event an unforeseeable theft takes place

For the second consecutive year, Dr. Ric Berlinski, director of animal health and nutrition at Toledo Zoo has taken part in some exciting new field research on wild snow leopards. Recently traveling to Kyrgyzstan in central Asia, he assisted in conservation efforts for these beautiful big cats.

The endangered solitary and elusive cats live at high altitudes on cliffs and above the tree line on rocky outcroppings. Because they’re perfectly camouflaged and are secretive by nature, the animals are notoriously difficult to locate by sight alone. In fact, even some local people have never seen a snow leopard and have named them “mountain ghosts” for that reason.

To uncover the habits of the snow leopard, a year ago, Dr. Berlinski placed a GPS tracking collar onto a solitary female, in the Sarychat-Ertash State Nature Reserve in the Tien Shan mountains, collaring another two males this year.

The project, primarily sponsored by international big cat conservation group Panthera, is currently tracking five snow leopards in the area. Another 35 cats have also been collared close to areas of human settlement.

Dr. Berlinski and his team have found that the cats’ territories overlap a great deal more than believed previously. Also, the leopards make many smaller kills, rather than remaining with larger kills for long periods.

The sheer range that the animals travel is vast, from between 100 to 400 kilometers. With this in mind, it’s challenging to snare and collar cats as they might pass through the same area only once every few months.

Data from the males shows that the eldest hunts wherever he wants to and frequently wanders into the territory of other cats. This male was estimated to be around 7 or 8 years old and has fur that’s faded with age. He also bears many scars, which, along with his behavior, indicates that he’s the dominant male in the area.

As to the future, the zoo fully intends to keep working on the project in conjunction with Panthera. In fact, the team is currently making plans to return on a yearly basis and continue to monitor the leopards.

As a high profile endangered species, this is an important project utilizing GPS tracking technology that can help scientists to understand the snow leopard and potentially help save it from extinction.