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READER FEEDBACK

Upper Darby police get bait car

By Mari A. Schaefer

Inquirer Staff Writer

The video clips are all over the Internet: unsuspecting thieves caught stealing cars - bait cars - set out by police and outfitted with state-of-the-art GPS tracking devices and video cameras.

One driver in California cried when nabbed.

"Oh, no. They got me," he wailed.

The cars have been used for about 15 years, in hundreds of departments across the country and in Canada. Starting soon, they'll make getting away with car theft in Upper Darby a little more difficult. The township plans to introduce its first bait car Wednesday.

"If we can eliminate a crime for preventative measures, it is a win for everyone," said Michael J. Chitwood, police superintendent.

The bait car might be the first in the Philadelphia region. Pennsylvania state police do not use bait cars, said Sgt. James Fisher of the Media barracks, and he was unaware of anyone in the region who does.

Minneapolis has run a bait-car program for 11 years, and thefts have dropped 58 percent, Officer Wayne Johnson said.

"We are getting the hard-core offender, and that is who we want," said Johnson, who runs what he called a "fleet" of bait cars. Two thieves, he said, even took bait cars to drive to court hearings for unrelated crimes.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, auto thefts have dropped 71 percent in the seven years the city has used the decoy cars, according to the Police Department's Web site. And sometimes, just the notice that bait cars are coming deters criminals. Thefts in Yuma, Ariz., dropped after signs warning that there might be bait cars were posted in a high-crime area before the cars were put on the street.

Allstate Insurance donated the Upper Darby car. Allstate restores damaged cars and outfits them with about $20,000 in technology before giving them to police, said Chris Conner, a company spokesman. It has donated 14 bait cars across the country; the Upper Darby car is its first in this region.

Allstate, Conner said, works with law enforcement agencies on antitheft initiatives such as the bait car and public education for other crimes to help reduce insurance rates.

Standard features in the cars include GPS units, video cameras that feed to police laptops, and devices that allow the cars to lock down and set off alarms when the thieves enter, Conner said.

The cars tend to be models - such the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Ford Taurus - favored by thieves.

According to FBI crime reports, about 950,000 motor vehicles were stolen in 2008, resulting in a $6.4 billion loss. Those numbers were down from previous years. Across Pennsylvania, 22,243 motor-vehicle thefts were reported in 2008 - an average of 61 a day.

Locally that year, 202 vehicles were stolen in both Upper Darby and Bristol Township. Philadelphia led the state with a little more than 9,000; Pittsburgh was second with 1,259. Chester had 224 vehicle thefts last year.

Philadelphia police do not have decoy cars, but they have been approached by the TruTV reality show Bait Car. The department has yet to decide if it will participate, said Sgt. Ray Evers, a spokesman.

The Upper Darby decoy will be monitored by two laptop computers at headquarters. One will track the vehicle with GPS, and the other will capture video from inside the car.

"We control the locks in the car," Chitwood said. "We can trap them and listen to everything they have to say."

Thieves claim that they're victims of entrapment, but that defense has been unsuccessful.

"Merely affording the person an opportunity to commit an offense doesn't rise to the level of entrapment," said Doug O'Brien, a Houston criminal-defense lawyer familiar with bait-car cases. He said the cases are similar to prostitution stings.

Because police don't even try to keep bait cars a secret, why do criminals keep getting caught in them?

"It is because people can't keep their hands to themselves," Johnson said. "They see something, and they have to take it."

Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or mschaefer@phillynews.com.

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Comments

Posted 09:39 AM, 10/26/2009

langx

You would be better putting a pile of money on the ground and then arresting who ever takes it. Real car thieves don't jump into cars that are running. Your just catching some idiot who thinks there taking advantage of a situation presented. Good TV. Bad police work.

Comment removed.

Posted 10:07 AM, 10/26/2009

Ben Dover

philly has a tv show with an actor as a teacher so why not have a bait car show that really does produce results in lowering auto theft? besides, this city needs a good laugh every now and then.

Posted 11:03 AM, 10/26/2009

rsf0000001

I really like Michael Chitwood. We thought he was great at his job in Portland Maine, and he hasn't lost his touch in Upper Darby.

Posted 11:27 AM, 10/26/2009

Ecksicon

Langx: where does it say that the bait cars are running?

Posted 11:49 AM, 10/26/2009

PhillyFan000

I never really understood the bait car thing. Like langx said. You only getting people seizing opportunity. Also I always thought this should be entrapment.

Posted 12:02 PM, 10/26/2009

Celtic Tide

Hey Idiot Langx! Where did you learn how to read?? I read the article and don't see the word keys or running anywhere in it. You must be a "real" car thief and even if they post signs you will probably get caught 'cause it's apparent that even if you can read, you don't.

Posted 12:09 PM, 10/26/2009

bahrvelous

All of the bait car shows that I have seen the cars were left open with the keys in the ignition.

Posted 12:30 PM, 10/26/2009

SayHello2MyLittleFriend

This is entrapment. If I was raised in a nice family, nice neighborhood, nice schools and given more handouts from the government, I wouldn't be stealing cars. Yep, this is entrapment.

Posted 01:25 PM, 10/26/2009

birdswinbaby

complete BS and a waste of time....its a nice story to catch the stupid people who see a car and want to joyride...i dont watch the TV show much but from what i see its NEVER "hard-core" car thieves. i suspect that a real "hard-core" car thief can spot a decoy car a mile away

Posted 01:25 PM, 10/26/2009

The Truth

How this rises to entrapment is beyone me... Now prostitution is entrapment because it should be legal. Now car stealing is a different animal... You want car...save for it and buy it! Just my two cents.

Posted 02:37 PM, 10/26/2009

aldawg

they should put this car in nothern liberties and they would catch someone every night..

Posted 02:48 PM, 10/26/2009

MD20202020

This is great. Kudos for Allstate for donating. It will be fun to see some Entrapment? What knucklehead hops in a car that isn't his? C'mon son, off to jail where you belong.

Posted 02:58 PM, 10/26/2009

nobodycares

Chitwood is the biggest blowhard I have ever seen. He can't get on TV enough to satisfy his large ego, so now he's doing this. If you ask me he should pay more attention to his officers and fighting crime at the street level than trying to fight it on TV and the newspapers. His continues to work his own agenda and not the needs of the people of Upper Darby. Grow up Mikey...