Research reveals rise in GPS vehicle thefts

New research from the Sentinel consortium reveals a rise in vehicle thieves using jammers in an attempt to outsmart the police. Criminal gangs can easily import cheap GPS jammers from overseas and use them to steal expensive cars and lorries with valuable loads.

According to the BBC, the Sentinel study recorded more than 60 GPS jamming incidents in one location over six months. And in a separate case, police in Kent have arrested and jailed a criminal gang in connection with the theft of 26 vans. Over an 8 month period 150 Mercedes Sprinter vans were reported stolen in the Heathrow Airport area where the gang operated. The highly organised thieves used jammers to disable tracking systems in the vehicles, leaving the criminals free to break up the vans for parts or drive them to Europe.

"The Sentinel study confirms fears that GPS systems are susceptible to jamming, highlighting the potential weakness of most tracking devices available today," says Stuart Chapman, head of a Police Relationship Team. "And the arrests in Kent show the real cost of jammers, which are exploited by criminal gangs. Most of the vans Kent police discovered were stolen from workmen, who suffered a loss of business, on top of having their van and tools stolen.

"The current over-reliance on GPS as a security and recovery system increases the threat of jammers. Although GPS has a part to play, current UK standards do not recognise the impact of its vulnerability, while more and more UK motorists fall victim to attack from jamming devices. We strongly advise consumers to choose a system that provides a more resilient solution and, better still, one that deliver multiple means of location and communication.