An ‘Army’ of Volunteer Sleuths Are Out Hunting for Your Stolen Car
A nationwide effort is underway to find out if your stolen car still has fuel, a battery, steering or brakes.
The FBI and the California Highway Patrol are joining forces to make it easier for law enforcement agencies across the country to recover stolen cars without using millions of dollars in taxpayer funds.
The two agencies are working toward a new pilot program that uses a third-party, third-party service to track a driver’s vehicle until it is brought back into the hands of the rightful owner.
In the last six years, the FBI and California Highway Patrol have recovered more than 3 million stolen vehicles. It’s a success story that could have significant impacts for all law enforcement agencies across the nation.
“Our ultimate goal is for law enforcement agencies to be able to recover all stolen vehicles,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard A. Walker. “This program is a great way for law enforcement to work cooperatively to accomplish this goal.”
What the program will do
Using the Federal Automated Vehicle Location Information system, a third-party, third-party service, the FBI hopes to identify the stolen vehicle’s location and notify its rightful owner.
The goal is to use the system, which uses GPS technology to track stolen vehicles, to have the data accessible by law enforcement agencies across the country, allowing them to collaborate in the recovery of stolen vehicles.
The system will be available to any law enforcement agency that agrees to allow the third-party to track the stolen car.
According to Walker, the system will be called the third-party location alert system, or TPLAS.
“The key feature of TPLAS is that it will combine publicly available GPS technology with publicly available vehicle data,” he said. “When the computer