Instead of preventing car theft, the Metropolitan Police Department has allowed a potentially successful program to stall because of technical problems and a fear of lawsuits. If they cannot streamline the program, they need to abandon it.
According to an article in the Washington Post, in May 2004 the police sent out their first three “bait cars,” commonly stolen vehicles outfitted with tracking devices and engines that officers can cut with the flick of a remote control.
The cars, owned by MPD, are parked in areas ravaged by car thieves. The keys are left inside the car, in plain view of potential thieves. Once the thief has broken in and begins to drive away, the vehicle sends a signal to dispatchers, who send officers in pursuit. At the opportune moment, officers kill the engine and fall in on the suspect.
The program should run like clockwork, but it is anything but efficient or cost effective in D.C.. Due to legal concerns-say, if a car thief ran down a pedestrian in the department’s vehicle-one officer must keep the car under constant surveillance. Four more wait in nearby cruisers, and the sixth monitors the electronics from police headquarters.
In the Post article, police said the department’s lawyers were concerned because so many of the city’s car thieves are juveniles and inexperienced drivers, who require heavy observation.
The first time the cars were dispatched, the officers lost a thief in traffic before the tracking signal mysteriously disappeared. They found the car two days later, sans an $80 videocassette recorder.
Various technical problems, along with the legal concerns, have largely kept the cars off the streets.
In over a year, the program has resulted in only 18 arrests. In recent months, the bait cars have been used less and less frequently. According to the Post article, the cars are now often used to record drug deals, so that they serve some purpose.
Citywide, car thefts are down 26 percent from last year. However, successful programs in Minneapolis and Arlington County, which require fewer personnel, have seen greater decreases.
The numbers are a little better in the Second Police District, where Georgetown is located. In July 2004, there were 194 stolen autos, but only 134 in July 2005-almost a 31 percent decrease. However, the problem is still gigantic in the District, where 3,666 car thefts were reported this year as of July.
By now, MPD should know that lawsuits are often a risk for novel and proactive programs, but that shouldn’t hamper them. If the objective is to reduce car theft, the police should attack it in the most efficient and cost-effective manner available. If they can’t, then the “bait car” program deserves the scrap heap.
