There are many uses for GPS tracking software. Parents use it to make sure their kids are safe. Retirement communities use it to keep track of their patients with dementia.
And apparently, around Christmastime, churches with nativity scenes have an issue with people stealing their Jesuses. It’s a big enough problem that many Jesus figurines are equipped with hidden GPS tracking devices, so they can be easily recovered if someone steals them.
GPS tracking helps police recover all kinds of stolen property. Here are five of the most interesting cases that involved cops using tracking devices to catch a criminal:
5. The Car Prowler
In Berks County, Pennsylvania, someone managed to break into dozens of vehicles over a two-month period without getting caught. He targeted cars that were parked outside gyms, as people often leave their purses and wallets inside their vehicles when they work out.
Northern Berks Regional Police investigators pretty much knew who the culprit was, but they wanted to catch him in the act. They attached a tracking device to the suspect’s Mustang GT and followed him around on Good Friday. The police picked that day because they knew that the suspect knew that many people had the day off and would use their free time to hit the gym.
GPS tracking allowed unmarked police vehicles to follow the suspect around while staying far enough away to avoid detection. Eventually, they saw him smash a car’s window. That’s when they brought him into custody. He was charged with theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief, and conspiracy.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?
4. The Cough Syrup Caper
In the early morning hours of November 10, 2016, two men broke into Creative Compounding Pharmacy in Tustin, California.
One of the cough syrup bottles they took had a tracking device inside.
It turns out that police in the area had been dealing with a rise in pharmacy break-ins. A crime analyst looked at the time and locations of previous burglaries and determined there was a good chance Creative Compounding would be hit next. So, with the permission of the pharmacist, the cops put a GPS tracking device in a bottle of cough syrup and placed it with the rest of the inventory. It sat on a shelf for months before the thieves snatched it up. A few days after the robbery, the cops were able to find the two culprits and arrest them.
3. The Great Gamestop Robbery
Last year, a man walked into a Gamestop in Newark, Delaware in the middle of the afternoon and announced that he was robbing the place. While holding the employees and customers at gunpoint, he demanded cash (of course) and some video games (why not?).
One of the items he stole contained a tracking device. It only took the cops 40 minutes to find him.
2. Double Trouble
In 2015, four men robbed a Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. They got away with $6,000 in a backpack.
When they left the bank, their backpack contained not one, but two tracking devices.
They got into a high-speed chase with police, and at one point they pulled over and one of the robbers bailed with the backpack and fled on foot. He hid in a nearby shed, but he still had the backpack on him. It didn’t take long for the cops to track him down.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?
1. Ocean’s Nine
A jewelry store in LA’s Koreatown neighborhood was overrun by nine armed robbers in July 2015. They held the employees at gunpoint, smashed the display cases with sledgehammers, and escaped in a van. The whole robbery only took a couple minutes.
The group was able to get away with hundreds of designer watches – but some of the watches had tiny tracking devices in the wristbands. In just a couple days, the criminals were all caught and the watches all recovered.
How GPS Tracking Will Benefit Your Business
GPS tracking helps police, and it’s a boon to businesses, too. It’s especially helpful for courier companies, sales organizations, and other businesses that need to send employees out to meet with customers.
All workers tend to slack off a bit when they’re unsupervised, and drivers are almost always unsupervised. They might stop for a snack or even run personal errands while they’re on the clock. Payroll is likely one of your biggest expenses. That kind of gratuitous time-wasting is unacceptable.
With GPS tracking software, you can see what your drivers are doing in real-time. Whenever you want, you can check in on a driver to make sure they’re sticking to their route and staying on schedule.
Also, when employees know they’re being tracked, they’re less likely to slack off in the first place. They’ll show up on time more often, so you’ll be able to maintain a good reputation.
Have any questions about GPS tracking? Let us know in the comments section below.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?
