Device could trip up car thieves by alerting cops

Newly installed high-tech 'Lojack' systems promise to help drivers and cops keep track of stolen cars

By LEIGH ANN MAZE

A new stolen-car detection device recently installed in law-enforcement vehicles won't prevent theft, but it may help officers recover stolen cars and the find the perpetrators, according to Capt. Jeff Miles of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's westside substation.

Eight patrol vehicles in the substation's fleet were equipped with the LoJack detection unit in December.

For some $600, the LoJack system can be added as an option to newly purchased cars. It is a small, electronic device hidden in the car from thieves and the car's owner. The device is activated and begins emitting a silent signal when the car is reported stolen to police. A patrol car equipped with the LoJack detection unit within one-half to five miles of the stolen vehicle, depending on terrain, will pick up the signal. The LoJack detection unit inside the patrol car will beep and display a number, which can be radioed to dispatch to find the make, model and information on the stolen car. A directional finder guides the patrol car in the direction of the stolen vehicle's location.

According to Sgt. John Hirokawa of the Sheriff's Department, the LoJack system is expected to be installed in all 158 of the department's patrol vehicles. Capt. Jeff Miles, who runs the Westside Substation, says there were 60 auto thefts in the city of Cupertino between January and Novermber of 1999. In 1998, there were 71 car thefts; there were 72 thefts in '97.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's department expects signal repeater towers in the area to be put up and the LoJack system to go on-line in January or early February, Hirokawa said. Deputies from both agencies are training to use the system.

The system was created by the private LoJack Corp. in Massachusetts and has been used successfully since 1989 in Southern California and in many East Coast states.

The California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division, which covers Alameda, Marin, San Mateo, Sonoma, Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties, recently installed about 30 units in patrol cars, according to Sgt. Sally Mitchell in CHP Investigative Services. The San Jose Police Department has 27 LoJack receiver units, but they are not yet installed in patrol cars.

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