GPS technology used to track stolen
car
From The West Australian
By Luke Eliot
November 05, 2005
An alleged car thief has been outsmarted
by advanced satellite tracking technology fitted to a stolen luxury
car.
Police arrested Phillip Gerald Hart, of White Gum
Valley, and retrieved an undamaged $55,000 Holden Calais from the
front lawn of his home about 30 minutes after it was reported stolen
from a Yangebup home.
Police will allege that Mr Hart, 20, broken into a
home in Tindal Avenue, Yangebup, shortly after 2am yesterday and stole
the owner’s handbag, mobile telephone and car keys, which he
used to steal the car.
Car owner Judy De Gennaro said she initially thought
the sounds of the garage door opening and her car driving down the
street were made by her husband, who had been called to hospital several
hours earlier after his father fell ill.
But, shortly after speaking to her husband about 2.20am,
she realized the sounds had been made by a car thief and contacted
police, who advised her to contact Holden Assist to activate the car’s
global positioning system.
Melbourne-based operators used a satellite to locate
the car as it drove along Lefroy Street, Beaconsfield, at 2.32am.
Sixteen minutes later, the operators used the technology
to secure and immobilize the car but it had already stopped at Mr
Hart’s Hope Street home. He was later charged with aggravated
burglary and stealing a motor vehicle.
Ms De Gennaro was compiling a list of credit cards
and other items stolen during the burglary about 3.45am when she got
the good news.
“I almost fell on the floor – I didn’t
think it would be so quick,” she said. She was relieved the
car was not destroyed.
Ms De Gennaro praised the GPS system and said her
next car would have a similar feature.
The GPS technology has been used in WA since 2001
and has been used to track stolen cars previously.
The system can be activated automatically if the car
is broken into without the use of the car keys.
The car can be immobilized or locked by remote control.
Operators are notified automatically after airbags are deployed in
a crash.
Operators can also unlock the car by remote control
if the occupants lock their keys in the car and their identity is
confirmed.
The system can also be used to warn the owner if the
car battery is running low, for example if the car headlights had
been left on.
Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan said technology
that allowed authorities to track and disable stolen cars was a great
crime prevention aid and hoped it was something all cars would be
fitted with in the future.
Mr Hart was remanded in custody when he appeared in
Fremantle Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
CAUGHT FROM A DISTANCE
Shortly after 2am:
Burglar breaks into Judy De Gennaro’s home in Yangebup and takes
personal items, including car keys, which he uses to steal Ms De Gennaro’s
Holden Calais.
About 2.20am: Ms De Gennaro contacts police and Holden
Assist.
2.32am: Melbourne-based operators used satellite
tracking technology to detect the car driving on Lefroy Street, Beaconsfield.
Operators advise WA police of the car’s movements through the
southern Perth suburbs.
2.48am: Operators detect the Holden stopped in Hope
Street, White Gum Valley. They immobilize the car by remote as police
rush to the scene. Police arrest 20-year-old Phillip Gerald Hart and
recover the undamaged car.
3.45am: Ms Gennaro is told that her car has been
recovered and the alleged thief arrested.
