‘Bait cars’ help police crack down on theft

WASHINGTON — A thief slips into a car, hot-wires the ignition and drives off. But within blocks, the car mysteriously shuts off, the doors lock and police swoop in. Busted.

Dozens of police departments are catching car thieves just like this, with new, high-tech “bait cars” that officers can track - and control - from afar.

Bait cars are a tantalizing weapon in combating one of the nation’s most common and costly crimes. Some police departments credit bait-car programs with reducing auto thefts by more than 25 percent. Insurance companies like the idea so much that some have begun buying bait cars for police.

Car theft losses “ultimately are picked up by everyone - me, you, even President Bush,” says Frank Scafidi of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an industry-funded group set up to cut crime-related payouts. “Anything we can provide (police) to help cut down on this problem saves everyone money and these (bait cars) work.”

Last year, nearly 1.3 million cars were stolen nationwide, or about one every 25 seconds. U.S. insurers paid $338 billion in related claims.

A few police forces began using bait cars in the late 1990s, and they’ve gotten increasingly popular.

Today, more than 100 departments use them, according to police and insurance specialists involved in the programs. In the Phoenix area, about a dozen departments have them. In Minnesota, more than 20 have them. And new programs are in place or being developed in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, California and Washington, including cities such as Austin, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Sacramento.

Bait cars are outfitted with satellite tracking equipment. But many are more sophisticated, allowing police to shut down the engine and lock the doors when closing in on a thief. In some bait cars, hidden cameras film suspects at the wheel.

Tracking software costs about $4,000, and equipping each car can run another $1,500-$3,000.

The Minneapolis Police Department was among the first to use bait cars. Today, the force has 10 and nets nearly a suspect a week. And bad guys seem to be getting the message. “In the first six months of the program, auto theft dropped 37 percent,” says officer Wayne Johnson, who helped start the program and now advises departments nationwide on bait cars.

“We had one guy who stole a car to go to court,” he says. “He was stopped right outside City Hall. We just had to take him around the block to the other side of the building to the jail entrance.”