Dumb

Next thing you know they will be dispatching police to clean windshields for people.

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Police give away cloths to help deter GPS thefts

Carolyn Peirce and Kathleen Miller, The Examiner
2007-08-14 07:00:00.0
Current rank: # 7 of 3,437
BALTIMORE -

Solving the rash of GPS thefts from vehicles in the Baltimore region could be as simple as wiping away the evidence.

Microfiber cloths can remove the suction marks left on windshields from portable GPS devices, which tip off thieves to the presence of the valuable electronic systems in cars.

“Anything proactive you can do to deter thieves from targeting your vehicle would be beneficial,” said Anne Arundel police spokesman Cpl. Mark Shawkey. “We would encourage folks to purchase the cloths.”

But Montgomery County police are going a step further by giving away 1,200 cloths this week at the Montgomery County fair in Gaithersburg.

“The little suction-cup circle [left on the windshield] automatically targets your car as one that has a portable GPS system,” police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said.

Instead of distributing cloths, Howard County and Baltimore City police are encouraging drivers to remove the GPS units from their vehicles.

“We’ve seen GPS units being stolen in various districts,” Baltimore City Police spokeswoman Nicole Monroe said. “... Don’t advertise that you have one.”

Electronic equipment left in plain sight in vehicles has been the cause of an “enormous amount of thefts from automobiles in the past year,” said Lt. Phil Kasten, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

If the GPS unit can’t be taken out of the vehicle, the best alternative is to lock it in the trunk of the car, Howard police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said.

Howard has seen a significant jump in the number of GPS thefts this year, which could be because the prices have gone down and more people are buying them, Llewellyn said.

Anne Arundel County police identified a suspect last week who has been tied to thefts of 10 GPS units, which police located in local pawn shops. The average GPS unit costs between $200 and $1,000.

BY THE NUMBERS

GPS thefts in 2007:

» Anne Arundel: 33 in northern Anne Arundel since June 15; thefts across entire county unavailable.

» Baltimore City: Unavailable because classified in a broader category of larceny

» Baltimore County: 95 to date

» Howard: 179 to date

» Montgomery: 287 since June 1

» Harford and Carroll counties: Unavailable

Source: Police departments

Examiner Staff Writer Luke Broadwater contributed to this article.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com

kmiller@dcexaminer.com