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DANIEL MOORE
Calgary Police have a few new lures in their tackle box as they set out on a citywide trolling expedition for car thieves.
Citing an average of 17 stolen cars every day in Calgary and more than 500 per month, city cops unveiled a new bait car program that will strategically place popular stolen vehicles in city hot spots, hoping to reel in the thieves they believe use the vehicles to commit other crimes, said Staff Sgt. Colin Adair.
“We’re going to be deploying them the exact way they’re being stolen,” said Adair, noting 40 per cent of Calgary’s stolen cars come as the result of leaving keys in the vehicle. “We may park them with the key in the ignition, we may park them in an exercise facility parking lot and leave the key inside in a shoe in the locker room.”
Cops won’t divulge exactly how many or what type of cars, donated by ING Insurance, will be added or just where their target areas will be, but bait cars will be on city streets within two weeks.
The vehicles are equipped with both video and sound equipment, GPS tracking devices and can be turned off remotely by police when they are in position, Adair said.
The Alberta Motor Association has funded a $75,000 public awareness campaign, including 15 billboard sites across Calgary, mainly because its clients have indicated their biggest concern is theft, said AMA’s Wendy Mah.
A brief pilot project with bait cars failed in 2002 because technology wasn’t up to snuff, Adair said.
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