Plant machinery

The stolen vehicle recovery expert, TRACKER, has urged police to recognise and respond to the growing problem that thieves are using GPS jammers targeting plant and agricultural businesses. 

TRACKER was supporting the Lancashire Constabulary Agricultural Crime Conference and highlighted how organised criminal groups are employing new tactics to outwit police as they steal equipment and vehicles to order.

Villains have been importing cheap GPS jammers from overseas, using them to steal prestige cars and 4x4s for some time, but there is growing evidence that the gangs of thieves have now been branching out to take advantage of a demand for plant machinery too.  

There are some alarming new figures from NFU Mutual estimating that approximately £1.5million of construction and agricultural machinery is stolen every week in the UK and TRACKER believes that GPS jamming is playing a significant role in supporting this activity.

TRACKER’s stolen vehicle recovery solutions have been specifically designed however to be resilient to GPS jamming as unlike any other solutions on the market, TRACKER combines GSM, GPS and also VHF* technology to create the most robust tracking device available. 

Stuart Chapman, head of TRACKER’s Police Relationship Team explained: “Systems that rely on GPS alone are susceptible to jamming, confirming the potential weakness of most tracking devices available today.  By combining 3 different means of location, including unique VHF technology, TRACKER offers owners and hirers of plant machinery the most effective safeguard against theft, even if the GPS does fail.”

TRACKER, the UK market leader in Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) systems has just launched a new battery powered unit to benefit the owners of plant and construction equipment. Every year an estimated £50 to £70 million worth of plant and agricultural machinery is stolen, of which only five per cent is ever recovered.

The battery powered TRACKER is based on TRACKER’S proven VHF (Very High Frequency) technology and this is brought together in a battery powered and waterproof unit. The latest battery powered offering is Thatcham approved and means that businesses that invest in fitting the battery powered TRACKER unit to their plant and construction equipment could benefit from a possible reduction in their insurance premium.

If you are a construction company and have assets like diggers, trailers, dumpers, excavators, cranes or perhaps a garden waste company using an industrial shredder, this new product could be very useful, as the battery unit last’s five years and does not rely on the asset’s battery to power it.

The battery powered TRACKER Retrieve retail prices is £295 inc VAT (fitted) and this also includes the first year’s subscription. More information on this can be found at the TRACKER website.

If you are driving over the New Year, perhaps visiting relatives, then TRACKER, the leading fleet tracking expert, also offers a traffic and travel service off their website. The service uses standard Google map controls and TRACKER’s traffic service shows any UK location and displays up to date local traffic congestion.

Stephen Doran, Managing Director  of TRACKER, said,”The TRACKER website features up-to-the minute traffic and travel information across the UK, helping motorists avoid traffic congestion and icy or snowy conditions.We also use roadside cameras, so that drivers can see conditions for themselves and make informed travel decisions”.

BMW X3 diesel

A TRACKER system fitted to a BMW X3 stolen from an address in Staines, allowed Thames Valley Police to recover four vehicles in total from an address in Buckinghamshire. TRACKER is the UK market leader in stolen vehicle recovery using VHF and GPS technology to pin-point a stolen vehicle, even if it is hidden in a container or a lock-up.

Adrian Davenport, Police Liaison Manager, South of England and Wales for TRACKER said,”This is a fantastic result and illustrates the power of TRACKER’s relationship with police forces across the UK. With the TRACKER device, none of these vehicles may have been found and the gang of thieves could still be operating”.

If you drive a performance sports car or indeed any vehicle that is likely to be stolen, i.e. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz,  it may well be worth considering fitting a TRACKER system, as some car insurance companies will actually reduce their premiums as well, knowing the car is likely to be recovered quite easily.

TRACKER, the UK’s leader in stolen vehicle recovery, has recently highlighted that there are shipping loopholes that allow car thieves to export stolen cars via the docks.

Two stolen Mercedes cars were found (one had a TRACKER system installed) in shipping containers, ready to be exported, with one bound for Hamburg. TRACKER’s data has found this is an increasing trend. Even though the stolen cars are contained inside metal shipping containers at the docks the TRACKER system, using VHF technology, can still locate them. 

More worringly, 75% of cars are stolen using the owner’s key, through car jacking, house burglary or from public places. Stuart Chapman,Police relationship manager for TRACKER said,”Every month we help to recover an average £2 million worth of stolen vehicles. And to date we have recovered more than 19,000 stolen vehicles,worth a staggering £420 million, and assisted the police in making over 1,900 car thief arrests.

TRACKER is also planning to launch some new technology that will prevent car thieves using GPS jammers imported from China. TRACKER Locate will provide a significantly enhanced defence system against vehicle theft, incorporating GSM,GPS and VHF technology in one unit.

TRACKER, the UK’s leading stolen vehicle recovery company, has helped the police in Warwickshire close down an organised car crime syndicate following the recovery of a stolen Volkswagen Golf GTi. The TRACKER system was activated when Mr Glover’s cars was stolen and led police to a large batch of stolen cars.

Mr Glover said,”I felt utterly shocked and confused when I received the automated movement alert from TRACKER, informing me of a possible unauthorised movement of my car. Thankfully, because of the movement alert, I was able to act quickly, and report the theft to Warwickshire Police. To my relief, it meant my car was found the very next day”.

Stuart Chapman, Police Relationship Manager for TRACKER said,”Not only did we recover Mr Glover’s car but 19 other stolen vehicles were found simultaneously”.

The TRACKER system works like a homing device and a covert transmitter is hidden in your car (or van) in one of several places around the vehicle. There is no aerial so a car thief will not know you have a TRACKER system installed. Many insurance companies will also look at reducing company (or private) vehicle insurance premiums if you have a TRACKER system installed in your vehicles.

TRACKER

TRACKER is the UK market leader in stolen vehicle recovery and uses VHF and GPS technology to pin-point a stolen vehicle. The TRACKER SVR system is hidden inside the car and transmits a homing signal, even if the car is locked up in a container or garage.

The police in South Yorkshire hit gold recently, when a TRACKER unit in a stolen Land Rover 4×4 led them to a number of stolen vehicles in the process of being stripped down by car thieves. Using a police helicopter, the Land Rover was tracked to the Wales area of Rotherham where another Land Rover 110 (without a TRACKER unit) was found on the driveway, another Land Rover in the rear garden and a Suzuki 650 motorcycle inside the house.

PC Wood of the South Yorkshire police said,”If it hadn’t been for the TRACKER device fitted to the Land Rover we may well have not found that vehicle or the other stolen vehicles. One man has been arrested and our enquiries are ongoing”.

TRACKER is the stolen vehicle recovery systems company and is the UK market leader with nearly one million systems installed.

In the current weather conditions, vehicle security is not on most people’s minds and TRACKER is urging motorists to be vigilant with the following advice.

• Don’t leave your car with the engine running unattended,when waiting for it to defrost.
• Never leave your keys in your ignition, even if you are just popping into your house or a garage. Always take them with you.
• Make sure if you have any belongings in the car that you don’t leave them on show. Put them in the boot or take them with you.
• If you have a stereo, make sure you it has a removable front and take it with you when you leave your car.
• Never leave any car documents (V5, service book, etc) or any spare keys inside your car.
• Always keep the doors locked and windows up when driving.
• When parking try and find a well-lit busy road, attended car park or near CCTV cameras.
• At home, if you have a garage do use it.
• Finally at home, don’t put your keys in a place where they can be seen from the outside.

There have been a series of quad bike thefts around Durham by an organised gang of car thieves however the Durham and Cleveland police force recovered a Honda 400cc quad which had a TRACKER system installed.

The bike had been transported 40 miles but the TRACKER system using VHF and GPS technology quickly located the vehicle. The underlying technology is in use in over 30 countries throughout the world and since 1993, TRACKER has recovered over 18,000 vehicles.

A pizza delivery scooter was stolen in North London and the thieves thought they had got away with it. The scooter was later hidden in woodland off the M1, however the vehicle was recovered safe and sound thanks to TRACKER, the UK’s leading stolen vehicle recovery company.

Working closely with the Metropolitan, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces, TRACKER activated their vehicle homing system which located the vehicle very quickly. The covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around a vehicle and is not visible to any potential thief. Using VHF and GPS satellite navigation technology, TRACKER’s SVR system enables the police to pin-point a stolen vehicle whether it is hidden in a container, a lock-up or even if it is taken abroad.

Sergeant Rob Squire from the Metropolitan Road Policing Unit said,”The bike appeared to have been used for off-roading and had probably been moved around by a van over a number of days, crossing between the different counties. But it was eventually tracked down to a well hidden area of woodland near a motorway service station”.