The recent installation of LoJack’s Police Tracking Computers (PTC) has given Metuchen’s police officers an additional tool in detecting stolen vehicles.
The LoJack PTC has been installed in four of the borough’s police vehicles.
“This is a great new tool, and the best is, [the PTC] does not cost the borough anything,” said Police Chief James Keane.
The police department received news last year that their application for the PTC was accepted, and LoJack donated the tracking technology at no cost to the borough.
In 2008, police reported nine motor vehicle thefts. In 2007 there were two motor vehicle thefts, in 2006 police reported 13 motor vehicle thefts, and in 2005 police reported their highest amount of motor vehicle thefts, 15.
“In order for us to detect a stolen vehicle, our police officers had to make a motor vehicle stop on another offense,” said Keane.
The borough of Metuchen is surrounded by Edison Township, and the borough receives traffic coming from Route 27 and traffic from Routes 1 and 287.
According to its Web site, LoJack is the nation’s first and only stolen vehicle tracking and recovery system used by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country in 27 states and worldwide in 30 countries.
The new technology operates on a radio frequency allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exclusively for the recovery of stolen vehicles.
The radio frequency technology is highly covert and highly effective even when the vehicle is in a steel container, garage or hidden under dense foliage, according to the Web site.
When a LoJack-equipped vehicle is stolen, the vehicle’s owner alerts local law enforcement. Once officers complete the routine report, a silent signal is automatically sent out that activates the LoJack transmitter hidden in the stolen vehicle.
Using special tracking technology, which can reach a five-mile radius, donated by LoJack for squad cars and aviation units, police officers can quickly track and recover the vehicle.
According to Phil Rivoli, New Jersey law enforcement liaison for LoJack, 250,000 motor vehicles have been recovered worldwide.
“Between 5 [million] and 6 million motor vehicles are under the LoJack umbrella,” he said.
The company boasts a 90 percent recovery success rate. Most vehicles are recovered within 24 hours of being reported stolen.
Rivoli, who is a retired police officer from the Essex County Police Department, shared success stories with Capt. Robin Rentenberg, Detective J.P. Therrien, and Police Officers Ken Bauer, David Liantonio and Edward Mosko.
The success stories included a Honda Accord that had been stolen and recovered 10 times. Another story involved a Corvette that had been stolen in 1986 in Massachusetts. Three years ago it was recovered within 20 minutes when LoJack was implemented with the police department in Houston, Texas.
“You know that owner was ecstatic,” smiled Rivoli. “The Corvette had been owned by five people over the last 20 years.”
Rivoli stressed that the new technology was not an answer to stolen vehicles.
“The economy as poor as it is, we know that crime will increase during these desperate times,” said Rivoli. “This is another tool that can be used.”
Surrounding municipalities that have already implemented LoJack in their police vehicles include Carteret, Linden, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Rahway and Sayreville.