Thieves Track Down GPS Units
Dozens of Car Navigation Devices Stolen in N.Va.

By Jamie Stockwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 13, 2006

Thieves once slinked among parked cars mostly in search of stereos they could easily pilfer. As technology progressed, they snatched cellphones and air bags and laptops. Now, police said, satellite-based navigation devices have emerged as the new gadget of choice.

More than 50 dashboard-mounted Global Positioning System receivers have been stolen from parked cars in Alexandria and Arlington County since January, and police are urging motorists to hide the units, which range in price from $200 to nearly $3,000.

"It's basically like leaving $700 in cash on the dashboard and asking someone to take it," said Mary Garrand, crime analyst for the Alexandria Police Department, who has noted about 25 stolen devices this year, mostly from Old Town.

"It's a huge problem for us," she said, adding that eight units have been stolen in the city since April 24.

In nearby Arlington, 23 GPS devices have been taken from cars this year, said Detective Damon Washington, who works in the auto crimes unit. He said most of the thefts have occurred in parking garages in Crystal City, Ballston and Rosslyn.

"It's the next new thing," Washington said. "GPS devices are the big fad right now."

Authorities elsewhere in the region have noted the trend, though in far smaller doses. In Fairfax County, for example, just eight GPS devices have been stolen this year. Police in the District and the Maryland suburbs said car owners have reported only a few such thefts in their jurisdictions. Victims do not always report thefts, police said, and not all police departments itemize property stolen from vehicles.

Demand for the devices -- which use satellite technology to provide virtual maps and step-by-step driving directions, among other features -- has grown exponentially, according to sales reports and business forecasts.

Basic devices offer driving directions on a color screen, but some high-end units include real-time traffic reports, satellite radio and wireless connections to cellphones.

One manufacturer, Garmin Ltd., announced last week that revenue from its automobile GPS devices had increased 252 percent for the first three months of the year, its best ever, indicating that the popularity of the devices has not begun to wane.

And huge revenue, police said, means that crooks probably will not let up anytime soon.

Thieves have also recently struck Reagan National Airport. Courtney Prebich, a spokeswoman for the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority Police, said officers have taken reports from seven travelers who said their devices were stolen from cars left in the garages and off-site parking lot. A scant number have been reported stolen from other area airports, she said.

And Metro Transit Police officials, who keep watch over vehicles left in Metro parking lots, said all thefts from vehicles are down about 43 percent this year over the same period in 2005, with few -- if any -- GPS units reported stolen.

Still, with an upswing in thefts in Arlington and Alexandria, police said, the problem could seep into every jurisdiction in the Washington region. Police have been unable to track the stolen units to pawnshops, leading them to believe demand is growing on the black market.

"We don't know where they're going or what they're being used for," Garrand said. "If anything, we just want to educate people about these thefts and the simple ways to prevent them."

There is no particular mode of operation, as the thefts have occurred at night and during the day. In most cases, the car was broken into, but in several others, the doors were left unlocked. In one case at a movie theater near Old Town Alexandria, a motorist left the windows and top down on his convertible, his high-end GPS equipment attached to the dashboard with an adhesive strap.

Washington, one of several detectives who recently canvassed the hardest-hit areas in Arlington in search of suspects, said it comes down to this: "Don't leave anything in your car that you're not willing to lose."

According to FBI statistics, the number of accessories stolen from vehicles shot up 30 percent from 2000 to 2004. Yet the number of stolen autos continues to drop nationwide, as many newer vehicles are coming equipped with tracking systems and sophisticated anti-theft devices.

One example is Arlington. Last year, police took 664 reports for items stolen from cars, up from 632 in 2004. In contrast, 493 vehicles were stolen from the county that year, while in 2005, the tally fell to 419, police said.

Thefts of high-end products from cars, including GPS devices, have been reported in locales across the nation, from Boston to Dallas to Orange County, Calif., and police are urging car owners to take greater precautions.

Really, Garrand said, it is very simple.