 |
 |
|||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
Success Stories
Acting on a tip, Detective Mike Birch of the Weber County Sheriff’s department (Utah) placed a TFT-MV Mini Transmitter on Beverly McGill’s van. Over a period of three days he was able to videotape McGill as she and her two daughters repeatedly stole merchandise from local businesses in a 35 mile radius. When McGill was apprehended, she had $250,000 worth of stolen merchandise in her possession that filled the police departments warehouse. McGill received a prison sentence of up to 15 years at the Utah State Prison. Her husband’s 14-year police career was ended, and he received six months in prison. "Without the TLR Tracking System we wouldn't have had anything," Detective Birch said. "It made the job ten times easier." "Most things in law enforcement are reactive, after the fact," Birch said. "This is one of the few things that are proactive." With over 19 years in law enforcement, Birch says that the TLR Tracking System has been the only thing he’s been able to make a dent in crime with. "It's the singular most effective law enforcement tool I’ve ever used." For her part, McGill felt that no security department, camera, or sales clerk could outsmart her. She told 20/20, "I'm getting everything that I want. Ain't nobody stopping me. That's a rush." Local merchants were able to reclaim stolen goods after McGill's arrest. "It feels great to have someone thank me for actually getting their stuff back," Birch said. This story was first reported on an episode of 20/20, but the method that was used to apprehend the suspect was never revealed. Back to Top Tracking Bicycle Down Leads to a House Full of Unrelated Stolen Property, Ontario PD We have had a number of successful operations using TLR's tracking equipment and it's difficult to pick one over the others. Probably the most successful ongoing use involves stolen bicycles. We have had continual problems of bicycle thefts in our community and it had been difficult to catch the individuals red-handed. Shortly after we acquired a system, we installed a transmitter inside the seat of a decoy bicycle. We left the bicycle unattended in locations prone to bicycle thefts. After as little as a few minutes the bicycle would disappear. Of course we were able to locate the bicycle within minutes in the possession of the thief. We have had it stolen and recovered a s many as three times in one night. The judge in these cases was somewhat surprised to have three separate defendants in his court for arraignment on the theft of the same bicycle. In one particular case we tracked the bicycle to a home where the occupant denied any knowledge of wrongdoing. Upon contronting the man with what we knew, he admitted to the theft of the bicycle as well as to the theft of a house full of unrelated stolen property. Another bicycle theft case was solved when we tracked it back to the county work release center where an inmate had ridden it back to check in for the night. -- Rick Kerfoot, Captain, Ontario Police Department Back to Top Business So Pleased They Donate a Complete BMX Bicycle to Police Department and it's Tracking Program In April 2000 the Clinton City Police Department purchased a tracking system from TLR to assist us with locating suspects that commit property crimes. The Detective Division attended training that was given by a representative from the company. Once trained, policy was implemented on governing the use by members of the police department. Property that was unrecovered in the police department storage room was then acquired by the police department to use. This was a lengthy process whereas letters had to be drafted to our city attorney to be approved, and then a proposal was submitted to our local judicial system for approval. One of the first pieces of property acquired was a used BMX bicycle valued at approximately $250.00. The reason for this move was because bicycle thefts the previous summer became a problem. We decided to have the bicycle fixed up, taking it to a local well-known bicycle shop. Once the program was explained to them, they donated labor and some parts to lend their support. The transmitters were hidden and secured onto the bicycle. It was then taken to identified target areas and left for unsuspecting thieves. After being left in several target areas over the course of three weeks, juveniles and adults were arrested for theft. We were very happy with it's performance. The bicycle was then placed at one of our lcoal parks under a bowery. Shortly thereafter, again, the bicycle turned up missing. The detectives tracked the bicycle to a Clinton resident, where it was found in his garage. They made contact with the home owner to ascertain answers to their questions. The homeowner then admitted to taking the bicyle from the park's bowery. Once the detectives told the homeowner that the bicycle belonged to the City, he looked at them and said, "No it doesn't, it's mine!" Puzzled, the two detectives gave each other a look that said, "Yeah right, we're heard that before." But the homeowner remained adamant, claiming it was his. He then went inside his home and retrieved the original ownership papers on the bicycle. Even more puzzled, the two detectives were in awe. The homeowner simply stated that his bicyle was stolen from his yard about a year and half before, and that he had never reported the incident to the police. Then he said he was driving home from work and saw a bicycle under the park's bowery that looked familiar. A closer inspection of the bicycle reveaeled that it was his. Needless to say, the detectives ended their tour of duty that day pleased that they returned a piece of property to its rightful owner, but saddened that they had to look for a new decoy. The bicycle shop mentioned earlier heard about this. They were so pleased about the tracking program and it's results, that they donated a complete BMX bicycle to our police department and it's program. -- Adam W. Fiske, Patrol Sergeant, Clinton City Police Department Back to Top Creative Tracking Leads to Burglar Being Arrested Along With a Wanted Fugitive My name is Bret Schei and I'm a Detective Lieutenant with the Bannock County Sheriff's Department in Pocatello, Idaho. We have been using the TLR tracking system for approximately a year and a half. I would like to tell you about our first experience using the TLR system. In January of 2000 I was contacted by Pocatello Downs, our local parimutual horse racing office. Customers there are able to view horse racing via satellite that is broadcast all over the nation and wagers can be placed on each race. The office also has a small snack bar which sells cigarettes, beer and chips. The manager of the establishment had contacted me and said that they had, in the past several months, at least twenty burglaries occur at their business in which items were missing but no forced entry was being used by the burglar. During the months of the burglaries they had changed the locks on the doors twice, sealed vents and windows, but the burglaries continued. It was first suspected that employees might be involved, but that idea was quickly proved not to be a factor. Each time a burglary would occur the suspect would only steal small amounts of money left in the cash registers, beer, and cartons of Marlboro (red) cigarettes in the soft pack. Over the period of time during the burglaries this added up to a substantial loss in cash and merchandise. We had recently purchased a TLR tracking system unit and I felt if I was creative enough I could catch the burglar by using the equipment to track the stolen items from the crime scene to the burglar's location. I then sat and thought, "What cqn I do?" I knew the suspect was taking the items and either consuming them himself or giving them away to be consumed by someone else. I then got the idea to place a transmitter and battery in a carton of cigarettes. I knew this would be taking a chance but our job deals in chance on an everyday basis and I felt the success outweighted the chance in this case. I purchased a Marlboro (red) carton of soft pack cigarettes, I tore off the top of the carton to look as though it was just placed into the snack bar for sale either by the pack or carton. I removed all of the packs and carefully cut open the bottom of one pack of cigarettes through the cellophane and paper and removed almost all of the cigarettes. Then I placed the battery and transmitter into the bottom of the pack of cigarettes. I then sealed the bottom of the cigarette pack, leaving the antenna hanging out. Now as you can imagine, I now have a pack of cigarettes with a sealed bottom containing a battery and transmitter with a long, thin antenna hanging out (no problem). I took the transmitter pack of cigarettes and stuck it far back into the empty cigarette carton where it would most likely be the last pack taken to be smoked. I then carefully tore open the seam of the bottom of the carton and ran the antenna along the seam on the bottom of the carton where the tip of the antenna was exposed but not clearly visible to anybody that might pick up the carton. I then resealed the bottom seam of the cigarette carton by using a small amount of glue, being very careful not to get any of the glue on the antenna. I then placed all of the cigarette packs back into the carton. This made it impossible to see that the carton of cigarettes was now a transmitting device. I contacted the manager of the establishment. He was very excited about the idea. Because he was the manager, he was always at the business at closing time. I advised him to use the carton of cigarettes that I had equipped with the transmitter as a bait carton each night that he closed up, and in the mornings when he arrived to help open the business, remove the baited carton and place it in a secured area in the business. Only a few days had passed and my cell phone rang at about 6:00 a.m. It was the manager. He joyfully told me that he had been burglarized again, and yes, the burglar had taken the baited carton. The manager stated that he had closed the business at about 11:00 pm the night before and when he arrived the next morning at about 6:00 a.m. he'd discovered the crime had been commited again. After talking to the manager I contacted another detective to assist me and we went "hunting." Bannock County has a population of 70,000 and we cover 1142 square miles and have four contracted municipalities in our area. We started off using our TLR vehicle antenna. After a general area was located, we parked our vehicle and used our small portable antenna. As we quickly narrowed the area down we just used the TLR Receiver to track. Within four hours we had pinpointed the location of the transmitter. We obtained a search warrant and made an arrest. It was GREAT. The TLR equipment worked perfectly. At first I was a little concerned when we located the initial neighborhood because it was a mobile home pack (with lots of metal siding, telephone lines and electrical lines.) But my concerns were short lived. The clear, strong and loud signal from the transmitter was not phased at all. It worked perfect. By using the TLR system we were able to catch not only the burglar who was responsible for several burglaries, we also located a wanted fugitive at the same residence where the stolen items were located. By the way, the burglar was using a pocket knife to gain entry into the building. The door locks worked but the front door of the business had too much space between the door knob catch and the door jam. I simply suggested that a flat plate be placed on the door next to the door knob so when the door is closed the door knob catch is covered. No burglaries have occured at the business since, and believe it or not, the burglar has quit smoking. -- Lt. Bret Schei, Bannock Co. Sheriff's Department Back to Top Salem Police Able to Find Stolen Cordless Drill Still in Box The D-Tek system has proved to be a valable tool to the Salem Police Department. I have been using this system for many years and have arrested numerous individuals for theft and burglary. In fact I was able to track a stolen cordless drill to a residence, and once inside I was able to track it to a cardboard box, the suspect was sitting on. This is one of many cases that were solved using the D-Tek Tracking Device. -- Detective Brad Bishop, Salem City Police Department Back to Top |
ABOUT US
CONTACT US
TESTIMONIALS
DISTRIBUTORS