Updated: Thu Nov. 06 2008 16:35:53

ctvcalgary.ca

Calgary police have decided it's time to start using bait cars to cut down on auto thefts.

Here's how it works. The bait vehicle is outfitted with a GPS tacking system and hidden cameras. The car is usually parked in an area where thefts have been a problem. Police are able to monitor the vehicle remotely. Once it's stolen, police are able to track the thief and once they have them in sight, the engine of the car can be turned off with the click of a mouse by a dispatcher.

For years, bait cars have been used successfully by other police departments in Canada and the United States. After four years of using them in Vancouver, the rate of auto theft dropped 35 percent.

But not every police department has had a flawless record with the system. In Dallas, the bait car program was suspended after a stolen bait car crashed into an innocent driver. Police had tried to disable the vehicle but something went wrong with the dispatcher - it took that person 20 seconds to shut the engine off. But that time it was too late; the bait car crashed into another vehicle and killed an 83-year-old woman.

In Winnipeg, the bait program was abandoned after cost and effectiveness were questioned. In Calgary, the bait cars will be paid for by ING Insurance, but in Winnipeg, police had to pick up the bill. That meant there wasn't the budget to switch the cars around and it didn't take thieves long to figure out which cars were bait cars and which ones were not. In fact, in the last year Winnipeg ran the program, police set out 100 bait cars and none of them were stolen.

Calgary police will not reveal what kind of vehicles they will be using as bait cars, or how many will be hitting the streets.

Between January and October of 2008, 5,170 vehicles were stolen in Calgary.

Comments are now closed for this story

David Quistberg - Calgary
I for one am glad that an insurance company (ING Insurance) is taking a pro-active approach to helping curb auto thefts by putting bait cars around our city, but I'm quite sure that regardless of how many less vehicles are stolen, the insurance rates won't go down.

Concerned Citizen
It doesn't matter what kind of bait we use as long as we are on the catch and release program we will never slow down the car thieves.

Tamara
I give it a month until some lawyer on a power trip somehow turns this around explaining that we're violating criminals personal rights...only god know that they can find a loophole somewhere.

PB
Of course, the insurance company is not going to share its profit with drivers. But reducing the number of stolen cars is a noble goal already.
Replacing your stolen car is such a mess and a waste of your time...

Guy
Good it's about time! Every single vehicle I've owned has been messed with one way or another and the last one was stolen... now all they have to do is stiffen the pentalty for vehicle theft - along with every other crime.