LoJack hit on yellow 2016 Ford Mustang in Denver

[ScannerSK]

There was a LoJack hit (GR09T) this evening near the 4400 block of W 11th Avenue in Denver. Police located the vehicle (yellow Ford Mustang) unoccupied however the occupant was presumed to be in the area; police did take one person into custody.

The best feeds for the activity were the Colorado Interagency Mutual Aid from 721-751 PM and the Denver Feed during the last half of the 715-745 PM feed archive and the first five minutes of the 745-815 PM feed archive.

The LoJack unit was activated at 6:50 PM and the police first picked up the hidden signal from the LoJack unit at 7:12 PM. The vehicle was located and one person taken into custody at 7:47 PM. The vehicle was recovered within one hour of the LoJack unit being activated.

 

[dw2872]

The best feeds for the activity were the Colorado Interagency Mutual Aid from 721-751 PM and the Denver Feed during the last half of the 715-745 PM archive and the first five minutes of the 745-815 PM feed archive.

They came up on MetroNet (on the MAC feed) and then Air One even came up on MetroNet. That cuts out one more middle-man dispatcher to go through and you are going to get caught if AirOne is involved.

 

[ScannerSK]

LoJack® System Helps Denver, Wheat Ridge PDs and Colorado Metro Auto Theft Task Force Recover Stolen 2001 Ford Mustang

The owners of a 2001 Ford Mustang contacted the Adams County Sheriff’s Office to report that their vehicle had been stolen from 62nd and Broadway. A Sheriff’s Deputy verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Mustang.

A short while later officers from the Wheat Ridge Police Department, Denver PD including the Denver PD helicopter Air-One, and the Colorado Metro Auto Theft Task Force were picking up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Mustang with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft.

Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the officers tracked the stolen Mustang to the 4400 block of West 11th Avenue. There officers found a subject sitting in the driver’s seat of the Mustang and arrested him. The suspect had three outstanding Felony Eluding warrants and a prior arrest for auto theft. Also found in the stolen Mustang were purses and tools that were probably stolen. Attempts to locate the owners are on-going.

The criminal filing regarding this case is being handled by an investigator assigned to the Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force.

The LoJack® System was installed in the Ford Mustang in September 2001 by Al Packer Ford in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the request of the original owner of the Ford.

Original link to the above Auto Theft Blog Library

 

[Denverpilot]

I've always been impressed that a commercial entity can sell a product that they then give the tracking units to government who does the rest of the job for them.

Not judging it, just saying I've always found it ironic that they profit from it and the public pays for the tracking and hunting of their toys.

Fascinating.

Reason I thought of it was, are there any competitors to LoJack? Would a competitor be able to mandate installation of their gear (even at their cost) in the same or an equal number of government vehicles as LoJack, by claiming LoJack had an unfair advantage if they couldn't get theirs installed?

Strange things I think about in the middle of the night.

 

[kc0kp]

I've always been impressed that a commercial entity can sell a product that they then give the tracking units to government who does the rest of the job for them.

Not judging it, just saying I've always found it ironic that they profit from it and the public pays for the tracking and hunting of their toys.

Fascinating.

Reason I thought of it was, are there any competitors to LoJack? Would a competitor be able to mandate installation of their gear (even at their cost) in the same or an equal number of government vehicles as LoJack, by claiming LoJack had an unfair advantage if they couldn't get theirs installed?

Strange things I think about in the middle of the night.

No different than ADT, Comcast, et al. They put in the alarm for free, charge you to monitor it on a long term contract. If it goes off, do they respond? Nope. They call the police just like you or I do.

 

[Denverpilot]

No different than ADT, Comcast, et al. They put in the alarm for free, charge you to monitor it on a long term contract. If it goes off, do they respond? Nope. They call the police just like you or I do.

In many places, PD and the city extract a tax for having an alarm system call 911 directly. Almost all go through a vetting process and a call center owned by the alarm colony first, also. And they know where they are dispatching to.

In the case of LoJack, the officer is doing the finding after the company says "go get it". Kinda like playing fetch with your dog. Maybe the newer stuff sends a GPS derived location? No DF?

Just a curiosity. Back when they started it was all DF. They just equipped squad cars and had an instant fleet of drivers, utilizing the synergy of PD's job role to get free labor.

Just interesting to me. Doesn't really bother me at all.

 

[ecanderson]

No different than ADT, Comcast, et al. They put in the alarm for free, charge you to monitor it on a long term contract. If it goes off, do they respond? Nope. They call the police just like you or I do.

HUGE difference here. All PDs already have phones. LoJack requires that PDs populate vehicles with the LoJack tracking system.

FWIW, LoJack does NOT depend upon GPS for location. Sorta pointless for cars dumped in parking garages, for example. That's also why the trackers are needed in the PD vehicles.