Dash Cams And Image Analysis
A lot of cars now come equipped with dash cams. And, a lot of people install dash cams in their own cars. Some people do this so they can record an accident. Other people have it for personal reasons.
Either way, if you have a dashcam, it will make it easier to track down your car and the criminal who stole it. Police can use image analysis to track down your vehicle, especially if it doesnt have GPS. A few of the ways image analysis can help include:
- They can match your license plate or car image at toll booths and intersection cameras
- Use google street view and compare it to the image of your vehicle
Keep in mind, a lot of the image analysis technology is new. Your local police department may or may not have this sort of technology. Even if they do, they may not have the time to dedicate to tracking down your car.
With a dashcam, you can do a lot of research yourself. Use whatever resources are available online to try to track down your vehicle. You can also troll Facebook sites and profiles to see if theres any information on your car. Some criminals arent as smart as we give them credit for. They may post pictures, videos or comments about stealing your car. If this is the case, make a screen print in case they delete it later. Then, give this information to your insurance company and the police.
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Can Your Car Be Tracked If Its Stolen
Certain apps and services can track and send notifications if a vehicle is stolen. For example, OnStar and LoJack have tracking devices to locate your car. OnStar can remotely slow down the car and prevent thieves from restarting it. LoJack has a stolen vehicle recovery system that reimburses you up to $10,000 if the vehicle isnt recovered within 30 days.
Talk To Your Insurance Company
Once you have a police report number, contact your insurance company. Dont be surprised if your policy doesnt cover theftnot all car insurance providers do. But if you have comprehensive coverage, theres a good chance your auto policy will cover theft.
When you file the insurance claim, youll need the police report number and a copy of the police report, if its available. The insurance adjuster may also ask you to share what happened, including the last time you saw the car, as part of the claims process.
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Vehicles With Unusual Signs
Again, an investigating police officer sees every car as stolen. Cars with crooked license plates, temporary tags and busted out windows covered with bags are signs that a car may be stolen.
If the license plate of a car does not match the vehicle description after a plate check, it is a big sign for the officer. For example, a blue Nissan plates could be found on a black Ford, which indicates possible theft.
Check Security Camera Footage To Find Your Stolen Car
When your car is stolen, you should check the security camera footage immediately. Video recordings from security cameras are one of the best ways to find your stolen car and vehicle.
- Check the security camera footage of your garage& your home. By checking the video recordings, you can see the car thiefs clear images, and his general escape route. With these evidences, the likelihood of finding your stolen car will significantly increase.
- Check your communitys security camera footage . If your car is stolen in your community, such as the public driveway, security camera systems will record the trace of your stolen car. A stolen Chevrolet Silverado car owner got his car back by checking a primary schools security camera systems.
You can watch the video below to see how the Reolink RLC-410 security camera stops a car theft. .
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Radio Devices To Help Police Track Stolen Cars
It happens all the time, police say. A shopper finds a space, parks the car, heads for the store.
In what may be just a few minutes inside the shopping center, the car is stolen.
Auto theft in Los Angeles County has increased 34% since 1984, the California Highway Patrol said. In the San Gabriel Valley, it has jumped 96% since 1984, according to FBI crime statistics.
To stop the auto thefts, Los Angeles County has begun installing a high-tech homing device network designed to help police track down stolen vehicles. In the San Gabriel Valley, the Azusa Police Department is the first to have the device installed in one of its patrol cars.
This will definitely save a lot of time and increase the rate of recovery for stolen vehicles, said Azusa Police Chief Lloyd Wood. The Azusa City Council recently approved funding for three more tracking units, which cost $1,800 each.
To watch it work is absolutely incredible, said Councilman Harry Stemrich. It is revolutionary.
The system, manufactured by Massachusetts-based LoJack Corp., looks like something out of a James Bond movie. It has two parts, one for individual cars, which will be available through auto dealerships, and one for police cars, provided by LoJack.
Homing devices for individual cars are scheduled to be on the market June 1 and will cost about $600.
Also, looking at Massachusetts, we can project that we will have a 25 to 30% arrest rate, Hulet added–better than the 1% arrest rate Los Angeles has now.
Gps Device For Tracking
Finding a stolen car used to be all but a lost cause. Despite all the aforementioned headaches and paperwork, police could not likely allocate the resources needed to recover it, and would probably struggle to find leads if they could. A car owner would have to file a stolen car report, then wait. And wait. And hope their car insurance acted fast, and hope their policy carried a low deductible.
But the 21st century offers a more appealing alternative, provided you have installed a GPS tracker in your car. A GPS Device for tracking can lead you, and law enforcement, directly to your stolen automobile. It wont get you out of filing a police report, but it will greatly increase the odds youll get your vehicle back, fully intact, and ready to ride again.
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Inform Your Leasing Company If Your Rented Car Is Stolen
If your stolen car is rented, contact the leasing company after you find the vehicle is missing. Inform them that youve already reported the stolen car to the police and ask for the cars identification numbers and tag.
Also, remember to request an incident form from the rental company and review the contract terms about the liability insurance you have chosen. If you have bought full coverage from the car leasing company, you will be covered if the car is stolen, supposing that you were complying with the contract at the time of the theft.
Get Ready To File A Police Report
According to the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting Program, nearly 721,900 motor vehicles were reported stolen in 2019. The most stolen cars were sedans and SUVs, while a small percentage involved stolen trucks and buses.
Before you report your vehicle as stolen, gather the necessary documentation to file a police report:
- Your contact information
- Personalized quotes in 5 minutes or less
- No signup required
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How To Make Your Car Harder To Steal
Although car crime can be a random crime, there are certain steps you can take to make your car harder to steal. Often, a potential thief will see that you have these features and will be deterred, preventing any damage at all. By contrast, some steps will make your car much easier to steal.
For example, if you leave your car to heat up in the morning by running the engine with the keys in the ignition, then you are making your car extremely easy to steal .
For example
The following tips will make it harder and less attractive for a thief to steal your car:
- Dont have identifying information on your keychain. If you lose your keys,a thief can find your address and then steal your car without having to do any damage. Again, your insurance may not cover this.
- Lock all doors, windows, and the trunk. Do this every time you leave the car, even if just for a minute or two.
Ultimately, in an ideal world, we wouldnt have to worry about car theft however, knowing what to do and being prepared for every eventuality is the key to getting life back to normal if your car is stolen. Having your car stolen can be a traumatic and stressful event, but luckily there are ways to prevent it, to mitigate it, and recover from it.
What Happens If Your Items Are Stolen From Your Car
Auto insurance only covers permanent parts of the car. It doesnt include personal property that may have been taken. For example, policies typically cover a factory-installed navigation system but not a dashboard-mounted GPS unit. Your homeowners or renters insurance should cover the theft of valuables from your automobile.
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What Can You Do If Someone Steals Your Car
Many people report stolen cars when the car is still in their possessionthey simply forgot where they parked it. So before notifying the police, make sure the vehicle is really missing. Check all the places where you usually park. If you cant locate the car, then its time to notify law enforcement officials.
What Process Does The Police Follow When Investigating A Stolen Car
When a car is reported stolen to the police, they will begin their investigation by gathering information about the vehicle. This includes taking photographs of the car, recording the Vehicle Identification Number , and checking for any outstanding warrants or tickets that may be associated with the car.
The police will also attempt to track down the owner of the car. They can do this by looking for registration records or contacting the manufacturer of the car in order to find out who purchased it. If they are unsuccessful in locating the owner, they will release a bulletin listing all of the details about the stolen car to other law enforcement agencies.
If someone is caught driving a stolen car, they can be charged with possession of a stolen vehicle. The penalties for this crime can range from a fine to imprisonment. In addition, the car can be seized by the police and may be sold at auction.
The police will continue to investigate a stolen car until they find either the owner or the thief.
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Check The Citys Transportation Website For Parking Violation When Your Car Was Stolen
You can track down your stolen car online via checking the parking violation. When your car was stolen, the car thief would park your car somewhere and then abandoned it.
The car was ticketed and put into the parking violation database, which is available online apparently.
You can follow the below steps to do a stolen car lookup online:
- Log into your citys transportation website.
- Use your license plate to check whether your vehicle is in the database.
- Check the area where the violation takes place.
- Contact the police. They will search for your missing car and then release it to you if they find it.
Top Tools And Apps To Find Your Stolen Car
Car theft has been a problem from the very first day cars were invented and launched on to the market. In 2019, more than 80,000 cars were stolen. Alarmingly, about $6 billion were lost because of car theft in the United States. You will be surprised to learn that there is a car theft reported every 50 seconds in the states alone.
One of the most common ways of stealing a car is to break into a parked zone, hotwire the vehicle and tow it away. Car owners often become victims when they accidentally lose their keys inside the vehicle and burglars notice it. Such incidences usually occur during winter when people leave their vehicle engine running before driving out. It is crucial that you lock the doors of your vehicles with another set of keys when you are warming it up.
Carjacking is a frightening car theft incident where the car owner is forced by thieves to leave the car. In some cases, car owners and passengers are made to remain in the vehicle as hostages. These are the fiercest forms of car thefts and have many times resulted in violence.
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How Do Police Investigate A Stolen Car
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , approximately 800,000 cars are stolen in the US every year. This amounts to around $600 million in losses for car owners and insurers. The most commonly stolen vehicles are older model sedans and SUVs, which can be easily sold or stripped for parts.
When a car is stolen, the police are tasked with investigating what happened. This can be a complex process, and there are many steps that need to be followed in order to find the car and bring the perpetrators to justice. In this blog post, we will take a look at what happens when a car is reported as stolen. We will also discuss some tips for what you should do if your car is stolen, and some other things to keep in mind if you are ever in this situation.
Here Is How The Police Investigate A Stolen Car
Here is the basic procedure for how the police investigate a stolen car.
Run the license plate through the National crime information center NCIC it is a database.
Dont expect to get your car back. Unfortunately, most people who have their vehicles stolen do not get them back.
How the police investigate the stolen car is not by hitting the pavement and searching their parking lots and old junkyards.
If a stolen car is found, it is usually because that car was at the site of a bigger and more dangerous crime scene.
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Legal Issues That May Arise With The Use Of Gps Trackers
Before using a GPS unit to track a suspect’s vehicle, police officers generally need to obtain a warrant. This is because attaching or installing a tracking device on someone else’s vehicle is considered to be roughly equivalent to a search. The Fourth Amendment protects against “unreasonable searches” and privacy plays a major role in this concern. While it is unquestionably important for police officers to have and utilize the best tools to locate and apprehend criminals, it is necessary to follow all legal precautions in their use.
Using GPS trackers and locators for vehicle tracking can help police departments do their job more efficiently and effectively. Recent legal decisions have made it clear that the installation of GPS tracking devices is subject to the protection of the Fourth Amendment, therefore law enforcement needs to take the appropriate precautions and obtain a warrant before using GPS devices for certain purposes. If handled correctly, GPS trackers offer an effective means for police departments to manage their forces, gather evidence, and apprehend criminals.
How Do Gps Tracking Devices Work
Just like their names suggest, GPS devices work with the network of satellites making up the Global Positioning System. A GPS device sending and receiving signals from these satellites can be located virtually anywhere in the world to precise geographic coordinates, usually within fifteen feet!
Hidden within the inner structure of your vehicle, a GPS tracking device may be located after the car is stolen, enabling law enforcement to track the vehicle and its movements in real time! Better yet, unlike the previous iteration of car tracking devices, such as LoJack, the police wont need to devote extra resources to triangulate the stolen cars signal. Technology does most of the work.
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Which Cars Are Most Likely To Be Stolen
In our three-year study analyzing the most stolen vehicles in America from 2016 to 2018, two Honda models ranked as the most vehicles stolen, accounting for 40 percent of the stolen vehicles in the top 10. The model years for both reveal that thieves target Hondas that are older and may not have the anti-theft devices to deter thieves and make them harder to steal.
Some of these vehicles are pre-smart key, meaning that they are more attractive to thieves.
Cars Are Usually Stripped For Parts In Days
It Is not often that a stolen vehicle is returned to its owner. Some cars are stolen but then abandoned in much worse conditions.
Also, many cars are stripped of their parts. A car can be stripped entirely of parts within a few days.
Many police who investigate stolen cars say that it is unlikely to be found if a vehicle is missing for a week.
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File A Stolen Vehicle Report With The Dmv
Filing a report with the department of motor vehicles is a separate step from filing a police report. The DMV will want to know about your stolen vehicle so they can update their records accordingly. Youll need to provide them with information about yourself and the stolen vehicle.
When you let the DMV know, you wont be responsible for future issues related to the car. If someone tries to register the car under their name or apply for a new title, the DMV can notify the police.