Spain’s proximity to the UK also makes it a potential hiding place or “black market” for stolen vehicles.
As soon as the TRACKER system is activated in a stolen car, the signal can be picked up by the Police and, in the unlikely event a TRACKER-fitted vehicle makes it to Spain, then it will be the Spanish Police, the Guardia Civil and the Policia Local, who will utilise their police tracking computers to locate the stolen vehicle in co-operation with DETECTOR. Communications are then made with TRACKER HQ based in Uxbridge, to ensure the vehicle is returned to its rightful owner, whether in Spain, or in the UK.
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What they say
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A spokesperson at the Kent Police Ports Autocrime Unit, said: ‘Vehicle thieves believe that once they get out of the UK with a stolen vehicle, then they are safe. With the assistance of tracking devices such as TRACKER now detectable in Spain, this will hopefully assist the Autocrime Unit in our operations to crack professional theft gangs running right now between the UK and Spain." Michelle Healy, TRACKER’s marketing manager, said, "With TRACKER working hand in hand with DETECTOR and the Spanish Police, we hope that UK vehicle owners in Spain, whether one of the 627,000* Spanish property owners or indeed holiday makers taking a driving holiday, will feel reassured that, should their pride and joy be stolen, the police will be able to track the vehicle down." TRACKER has operated in the UK since 1993 and in March 2003, began locating stolen vehicles in France in conjunction with Traqueur and the Gendarmerie Nationale and the Police Nationale. To date, TRACKER has led the Police to the retrieval of more than 10,800 stolen vehicles valued at £188 million and to the arrest of over 1500 thieves.
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There are three systems in the TRACKER product range:
TRACKER Retrieve (£199) – with this system, the owner contacts TRACKER if the vehicle is stolen. TRACKER HQ then activates the system so the Police can pick up the signal and begin tracking the vehicle. <br>
TRACKER Monitor (£299) – operates as TRACKER Retrieve, but also includes a remote sensor, which alerts TRACKER HQ if the vehicle is illegally moved. Both systems are operated via land based radio transmission, which means that if the car is hidden in a lock-up, in a container or is covered up, it can still be tracked.
TRACKER Horizon (£499) – operates as Monitor, but also utilises satellite positioning technology as well as land based radio transmission to provide the most comprehensive stolen vehicle tracking system available in the UK. For more information.
