You have been sent this message from tellner@private as a courtesy of the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com). Amusing computers/crime story To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62681-2002Apr16.html Arlington 'Bait Car' Hooks Suspect By Patricia Davis Jose Gonzalez was charged by Arlington police over the weekend with auto theft. He had no clue it was the car that turned him in. The late-model sedan he was driving was the Arlington County Police Department's new "bait car," wired to alert police when someone tries to steal it. When the car called police, a map of Arlington flashed on a computer screen in the Emergency Communications Center, pinpointing the vehicle's location. Because the car was linked to a global positioning device, dispatchers tracked its movements on the computer screen and knew where to send two police cars. "This is an exciting marriage of technology and classical crime control," Police Chief Edward A. Flynn said yesterday. "For once, a new gizmo helps us catch a bad guy in the act." Gonzalez's arrest marked the first of its kind in the Washington region, with the stolen vehicle in effect playing the role of snitch. Arlington police hope their new fleet of bait cars will cut down on auto theft, and other police departments, including Prince William's, are planning to test drive some of their own soon. Arlington Detective Chris Dengeles was intrigued by the success of bait cars in Minneapolis, which has had a decline in auto theft. "We believe it's making a difference," said Minneapolis investigator Wayne Johnson, who is fielding calls from law enforcement agencies across the country. Dengeles said police parked their first bait car in Arlington on Feb. 8, selecting from among the most commonly stolen vehicles. Nationally, that list includes Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords and Oldsmobile Cutlasses. They doctored it with just the right amount of trash or car stuff to make sure it looked like it belonged there. The technology inside the car costs about $3,000, about the same price as the extra computer equipment at the communications center, he said. Finally, just after midnight Saturday, the bait car made its first call. "Textbook," Dengeles said yesterday. "It was beautiful. It requires no baby-sitting." Once police decide where to park the cars, they don't have to stick around. The technology, produced by Ontario-based HGI Wireless Inc., allows the car to let them know when a car thief is behind the wheel. "The car called us -- 'I'm being stolen,' " Lt. Elaine Moore, who supervises the police department's auto theft unit, said of the bugle noise that sounded on the computer. "Police work has evolved to keep up with the criminals." Police won't say what inside the car triggers the alert. But when officers closed in on the astonished suspect minutes after the car was stolen, they also had the technology to disable the vehicle -- stopping it in its tracks. Flynn said that capability ensures that the suspect won't see police in the rearview mirror and race off, endangering lives. Arlington Commonwealth's Attorney Richard E. Trodden hopes the bait cars will be an effective tool in fighting a persistent problem. Last year, 702 auto thefts were recorded, down from more than 1,000 a year over the past decade. He does not anticipate any successful challenges from defense attorneys that the tactic is entrapment. "Entrapment is where the government plants the seed of a crime in the mind of individual who would not otherwise be criminally inclined," Trodden said. " . . . We don't want that. But if we had somebody who was out there, ready to steal something . . . it's good police work." In addition to facing a grand larceny auto charge, Gonzalez, 40, was charged with possessing burglary tools and driving on a suspended license. Arlington police won't say what kind of vehicle he was driving or where they plan to park their bait cars next. But Alexandria police spokeswoman Amy Bertsch has a suggestion. "If they want to park it in Alexandria, that would be fine with us," she said.
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