GPS Tracking Devices Are Proving Valuable In The Fight Against Crime

Canada’s postal branch in British Columbia has used a GPS tracking device to help solve an internal theft problem. A former employee who drove postal trucks was arrested and found guilty for possession of stolen mail; he is due to be sentenced next month.

An internal investigation was started when a customer made a formal complaint to the post office regarding a laptop which had been mailed but never delivered. Upon further investigation post office investigators found that nine laptops that had been posted failed to arrive at their destination between December 2008 and June 2009, the investigators suspicions fell onto one person.

The Post office task force obtained a warrant that allowed them to place a GPS tracking device into a laptop computer and then mailed it. The suspect picked up the package in his truck where upon investigators were able to track his truck via a computer screen to a mobile home which was not the designated address. The suspect was later arrested and charged, he pleaded guilty to the possession of stolen mail and stolen property.

This demonstrates another way in which a GPS device has been used, the versatility of GPS devices and size allows them to be placed in vehicles to laptops. GPS devices are set to become a valuable weapon in the fight against crime.