Police officers in Baldwin County, Alabama recently recovered a stolen truck and thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment taken from Louisiana. According to police reports, the 2013 Chevy work truck was discovered in a very secluded area near Bay Minette. Police also caught up with two suspects who have been arrested for receiving stolen property.
This incredible feat was made possible thanks to the newest GPS tracking technology that guided police departments to the location of the stolen car. Typically, stolen goods that are transported across state borders are quickly broken down for parts, sold on the black market and lost to authorities. Criminals are usually very skilled at evading law enforcement agents, but new technology is making it even harder for them to get away with stolen merchandise.
Baldwin County Deputies learned about the stolen truck when officers from the Mobile Police Department called them. The Mobile Police had been attempting to track the stolen vehicle when they learned it was outfitted with a GPS tracking device. The GPS began pining a location near Bay Minette, so the officers alerted Baldwin County to respond.
Deputies quickly descended on the secluded scene where they discovered not only the stolen vehicle but also over $100,000 worth of construction equipment stolen from Louisiana.
Equipment stolen included a Caterpillar skid-steer, a Kubota mini-excavator and a 20-foot gooseneck trailer. Police learned that the suspects were already attempting to remove any identifiable features from the machines. The construction equipment’s VIN plates were already pried off.
As police continued to examine the nearby construction equipment, they were surprised when two men pulled up in a truck. The men immediately fled when they saw police officers in their secluded hideout. Baldwin Police pursued the suspects in a short vehicle chase and then arrested them for receiving stolen property.
One of the suspects had the key to the Kubota in his pocket, and the other suspect had methamphetamine in the vehicle. The two suspects have been identified as Freddie Sellers and Greg Holder, Jr. Police will be continuing the investigation in an attempt to find out if any other individuals are connected with this interstate crime.
Dockless bike rental companies have been big business in China for years and are now making their way onto distant shores in droves. Bike sharing programs are so popular in China that there are 1.5 million shared bikes located in Shanghai alone.
Some U.S. cities tried bike sharing opportunities in initial stages that failed miserably. Dockless bikes that utilize GPS tracking technology are changing the game and allowing private businesses to bear the brunt of the costs – and risks – associated with bike sharing programs.
Dockless bike rental options are good news for businesses. It means they are no longer required to set up costly stations or rent property from municipal governments to rent their bikes.
The nature of GPS tracking is helping to provide practical solutions for the bike rental organizations that go far beyond tracking the locations of their property.
The first hurdle GPS tracking helps overcome is access to the bicycles. People interested in renting these bicycles can unlock their rental bike with an app on their mobile phones.
Next, GPS tracking for dockless bike rental companies gives them the ability to track the locations of bikes that may not have been properly returned or to identify when one area of town is saturated with bicycles and other areas are being underserved. This means they can have employees or contractors go and pick up bicycles that need to be moved to locations where the demand outpaces the supply.
Third, Communities appreciate the thought behind bike rental programs for offering affordable transportation options for residents and visitors alike, encouraging people to become more active, and creating a convenient way of moving around downtown areas that reduce the traffic burden.
Finally, GPS tracking information can be shared with cities to provide unique insight into the flow of traffic, routing data, most heavily commuted areas, etc. to help cities when planning things like a new location for bike routes and lanes.
On the flip side of the argument, there are those who could successfully argue that stacks upon stacks of bicycles littering limited city sidewalks is creating eyesores throughout major cities as well as hazards for those who do walk on these, suddenly overcrowded, sidewalks.
GPS helps to substantially reduce that problem and some communities are considering imposing fines (or even impounding bicycles that become problems for over-crowding and tripping hazards for pedestrians.
For people who use medical marijuana for advanced health conditions, delivery is an important and highly useful service for dispensaries to offer. Some states, though certainly not all, that have legalized marijuana, have approved cannabis delivery.
Cannabis delivery is legal in California, but there are some hefty regulations attached to that legality. One of the biggest regulations impacting all vehicles used to delivery cannabis in the state of California requires them to be equipped with dedicated GPS tracking devices.
