New Tools To Track Down Stolen Cars

Police in the USA and Canada are turning to some new technologies to help locate stolen cars. They are using special cameras mounted on police cars to process licence plate numbers as well as benefiting from private citizens reporting information on stolen vehicles they recieve through the internet..

The new cameras mounted on police cars work just like a photo radar system.

A computer inside the police vehicle processes the plate numbers and signals an alarm when a stolen car is spotted.

The system is already being used in severaral Canadian cities including Toronto.

Police in both Canada and the US are receiving tips on stolen vehicles from "Tippers" in an online community that is billed as "The Nation's Neighborhood Watch For Stolen Vehicles" and can be found at http://www.StolenCarReports.com. Registered users receive alerts on stolen vehicles in their region by way of an email and/or a wireless message to their cell phone, PDA, or SmartWatch. Tens of thousands of registered users receive "stolen car reports" and provide police with information as to the location of these vehicles. "Tippers" who provide useful information to law enforcement are eligible for rewards up to $250 USD.

These new innovative programs are expected to have a major impact on the recovery rates of stolen vehicles and result in significant savings to individual car owners and insurance carriers.