PUBLISHED MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Consequently, there is certainly a need to secure vehicles from unauthorized use, whether they’re attended or not. But what can the individual officer or department do?

Agencies are using a number of solutions to combat theft of police vehicles.

The simplest and least expensive option is establishing procedures that require officers to treat the vehicles as the average civilian would a personal car. That means the officer is required to lock it and take the key upon leaving the vehicle.

For some agencies, this simple solution is impractical, but others can live with it. “I m old-fashioned; I turn the cruiser off and lock it.” says an Ohio officer. Of course, it s hard to leave a vehicle running and prevent battery drain when you use this security procedure.

But a Colorado officer offered this solution to the problem. “Since we have take-homes, I just have multiple copies of my car key. I leave one in the ignition when I m working so I can leave the car running when necessary and not have any problem locking the car. And I always hit the car lock button on the way out.”

One Arizona agency offers another variation on this concept by ordering its vehicles keyed alike. The standard procedure is for officers to call when leaving the vehicle, requesting that backup secure it, often by moving it. Obviously, having all units keyed alike makes this possible, even if the first responder leaves the key in the running car and locks the doors.

High-tech theft prevention devices essentially take one of two approaches to making life hard on car thieves. They stop the theft or they help the authorities track the vehicle once it has been stolen.

Some departments install GPS-linked tracking systems or LoJack devices to keep track of vehicles, but this rarely prevents them from being taken in the first place. These locate the vehicle after a theft. They can also be useful should an officer be unable to communicate his location (due to injury, radio malfunction, lack of time, etc.) and need assistance.

LoJack and similar technologies are great, but they fail to address the potential for an unauthorized person getting into the vehicle and driving it away, especially when the engine is left running with the doors unlocked. Stopping this problem requires a more sophisticated solution, and fortunately, several are available.

Tremco Police Products produces a Police Package Anti-theft System that works. Available for practically any police service vehicle, it plugs into the standard electrical wiring harness and then requires the installation of a few switches.

Once installed, the Tremco system activates whenever the transmission is placed into park; no other switch needs to be pressed. Whether the engine is running or not, the shift lever cannot be shifted out of park unless a hidden foot switch is pressed, sounding a small buzzer that indicates deactivation of the anti-theft system.

For those times when civilians might need to operate the vehicle (the mechanic at a local garage, a car wash attendant, etc.), the Tremco system features a hidden bypass switch that turns the entire system off so the car operates normally. The system is deactivated when turned over to a citizen, and reactivated when returned to the officer.

Tremco claims its system usually takes 15 minutes or less to install, and it can easily be done by anyone with normal tools and some mechanical aptitude. The cost is $89 per vehicle.

When considering the potential liability – not to mention the embarrassment – of stolen law-enforcement vehicles, installing an anti-theft device of some type becomes a no-brainer.

Of course, one type of patrol vehicle seems to be immune to theft: the K-9 unit. For some reason, most people think twice about trying to heist a car that has a built-in set of teeth accompanied by vicious barking. But these are a small percentage of officers. As a fleet manager, you need to take precautions and consider technology that can prevent a police unit from leaving without the assigned officer.

Paradise Valley, AZ, police Sergeant Bruce Barrows was directing traffic around an accident he encountered one morning to the west of Phoenix. He was shocked when he looked back toward his own car and saw it being stolen by one of the drivers involved in the accident.

The incident began when Barrows was en route to a meeting. On the way, he saw the crash, blocked the lane with his semi-marked police car and turned on the red and blue lights mounted in his rear window. While waiting for Arizona Department of Public Safety officers to arrive, Barrows began directing traffic around the crash scene.

Not long after, he realized his car was being stolen. Within minutes, another crash was reported not far down the freeway. Sure enough, it was the suspect in the Paradise Valley police.

The suspect slammed into another car, rolling it over and forcing it onto the shoulder of the road. The police car sustained extensive front-end damage. The driver of the other car suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. The suspect wormed out of the stolen vehicle and began running through a nearby field, where he was soon apprehended.

Another incident occurred in the rural Northwest. “Our cars are always left running and unlocked and we drive single-person cars so we don’t have anyone standing by in the vehicle,” says Trooper Don W. Ginter, Senior Driving Instructor for the Washington State Patrol Academy. “When you lose a $35,000 car and all the equipment it contains, you have to take a critical look at the situation.”

Ginter’s department recently had a patrol car stolen in wide-open territory, away from all populated areas. “The incident happened 30 miles west of Spokane,” he recalls. “We made an arrest and were lucky this time. There was no significant damage to the patrol car, no accidents and no injuries.”

Stolen police cars are not a problem isolated to high-density inner- city areas. In some ways, it can be more dangerous to have a patrol car stolen in a less populated region than an urban area. The officer is left stranded miles away from anything without a vehicle, radio or backup. He may even be injured and in need of emergency medical care.

Incidents involving stolen cruisers have been making headlines since the assassination squad involved in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre drove to and from the grisly murder scene in a stolen police car. “Baby Face” Nelson once escaped capture during a bloody shootout by stealing a law enforcement agent’s car.

“Since our two incidents occurred, we are examining everything and looking at what we need to do,” Burgess said. “Obviously, our chief is very concerned. Standard procedure is to leave the cruiser running. Therefore, do we need to change policy or procedure? Do we need to change something in training? Do we need to buy additional equipment or a device to prevent this from happening? We have to change something. Our fiscal equipment management people are taking a close look at the situation.”

One such device that prevents patrol cars from being stolen is the Tremco Police Package Anti-Theft System. When an officer pulls up to an emergency and places the shifter into park, the device automatically activates. A would-be thief cannot pull the shifter out of the park position. Upon returning to the vehicle, however, the officer can deactivate the system and be on his way.

“We solved the problem of police vehicle theft when the engine is left running,” stated Mark Tremblay, Vice President of Tremco Police Products and a former police officer. “This integrated system also gives 24 hour protection to vehicles when not in services. If a vehicle is not in use and the key lock is destroyed, the shifter will not release.”

During the past 17 years, this inexpensive police tool has protected thousands of agency vehicles from the liability of pursuits, fatalities, damage to vehicles and loss of weapons. Tremco’s device is the only system sold exclusively to law enforcement agencies and not civilians or other industries. Users include more than half of all highway patrol and state police agencies, as well as the FBI, DEA, and ATF. Not one law enforcement vehicle containing a Tremco device has ever been stolen, even though numerous attempts have been made over the years.

The device’s camouflage system blends in with surrounding components inside the vehicle. In the event a civilian at a garage or car wash must operate a cruiser, the system has a switch that allows the officer to turn off the device. Tremco is constantly updating its products and technology, and has developed easy-to-install plug-in systems for all makes and models of all police-package vehicles. As far as installation, the system simply plugs into existing harnesses. It does not void the existing vehicle manufacturer warranties because no wires are cut of spliced. The complete installation is safe and quick- about ten minutes.

Another type of anti-theft device is manufactured by Secure-Idle. With this system, when an officer stops the vehicle, presses a button and then takes the key out of the ignition, the car’s engine keeps running but the steering column locks up and the shifter can’t be moved.

“If you don’t have the key you’re not going anywhere,” explained Jeff Christensen, president of Secure-Idle. “When you turn on the system, physically the car is 100% running and functional, but mentally the car is 100% off. To disengage the system, you simply put the key back into the ignition, turn it to the on position, put the car in drive and drive away. If someone jumps into a car equipped with our unit and tries to put the shifter in place it won’t move, so he jumps out.”

According to Christensen, “In most cases involving stolen police cars, the keys were left in the ignition with the doors unlocked while the officers were performing their duties. Our system takes only one second to activate and it prevents anyone from stealing the car. Plus, you won’t lock yourself out of your vehicle and no duplicate keys are necessary.

Secure-Idle recently developed a plug-in version for several different Ford models. The unit goes under the dash and takes ten minutes to install. In order for the system to be installed on other makes and models at this time, however, wires must be cut.

Considering the number of law enforcement vehicles stolen each year, Tremblay said, “Criminals are more brazen than ever before. If you haven’t lost a patrol car yourself, you probably know somebody who has.” For more information, contact Tremco Police Products at (888) 666-3031 and Secure-Idle at (630) 215-7777.

Making a product that is inexpensive to buy, easy to install and easy to use, yet hard to break was what Tremblay set out to do 17 years ago. He bought the idea to his father, Ted, the founder and the President of Tremco Products Company, and the senior Tremblay came up with the design.

“It’s a very simple and totally reliable device,” Larkum says. “We’ve never had a unit go bad.”

The system typically is installed in less than 15 minutes by either a dealership or a department’s garage. There’s no cutting or splicing
of wires. It plugs into an existing harness, plus it into the anti-theft system and take the other plug of the anti-theft system and plug it where the existing harness was. Ground current is redirected to the shifter solenoid to operator the system, so the system does not take away battery current needed to operate radios, heaters, air conditioners, defrosters, emergency lights and other equipment.

The standard system has a convert black box with a switch that can be turned on or off by hand as desired. The integrated system and
the Police Smart system are turned on or off with a floor piece. One uses the floor piece to release the shift lever out of the park position. The other uses the floor piece to start the vehicle.

To preserve the secret of how the systems work, Tremco Products Company tries to make sure that not a lot of people are involved with the installation of the product. Tremblay or another representative from the company will go to a dealership or garage to demonstrate
how the system are installed.

In the event that a squad car must be operated by a civilian at a car wash or a garage, the systems have a switch to allow the unit to be turned off. “Nobody in the car will know that it’s there unless somebody tells them it’s there,” Cosner says.

Since Tremco Products Company made its first anti-theft system, more and more agencies are including anti-theft systems in their vehicle
specifications. As the popularity of the systems increases, will the secret of how the systems work get out into the public? Then what?

Even if the secret did spread, Tremblay says most people looking to steal a police car jump in a running vehicle and if it doesn’t move
out of the parked position, they’re not going anywhere. “It’s a high-adrenaline situation,” he says. “There’s so many buttons to push in a
police car, you’d never figure out how the system works anyway.”

If a department is concerned that the secret has gotten out, Tremblay says the location of the activation switch can be changed.

Tremco Products Company has no desire to incorporate a lock and key or access code into its systems. “It’s very clear to us that if you
had something where you had to have a key to activate or punch a code or do something time consuming, it would just make it a non-purposeful tool.”

Perhaps reluctant to try a new product, many have tried to come up with a scenario in which an anti-theft system wouldn’t be useful.
“The only scenario that has come up that I really haven’t had an answer for is a situation where the trooper got shot and a civilian wanted to drive the trooper to the hospital,” Tremblay says. “The civilian puts the trooper in the back of the police car and the civilian can’t drive it. The civilian should be using the radio. You don’t want to take the trooper from the scene. We live in a world with quick EMS response and helicopters. If a trooper does get hurt and he is moved, he could be further injured. If he is moved in the vehicle, the crime scene may be hard to relocate later on.”

Strickland won’t forget the day he was injured by his own cruiser. It’s not a performance he wants to repeat.

“It’s quite a comfort to me knowing that my car is going to be there when I get back,” Strickland says.

Although they’ve never had a vehicle stolen, several vehicles in the Wilson County sheriff’s department are outfitted with the anti-theft gadgets.

“They work really well,” said Chief Deputy Johnny Deagan. “It’s safe to leave the car running if a suspect is leaving the crime
scene. It also works against someone who might sneak up from behind and try to take the car.”

However, Deagan warned with a chuckle, “If another officer is going to borrow your car, you better tell them how to disengage
the device. It’s hard to find if you don’t know where it is.”

The anti-theft system:

• Prevents vehicle theft when the engine is left running.
• Activates when the vehicle is put into “park.”
• Allows emergency lighting, radios, heaters, air conditioners
  and defrosters to operator while maintaining needed battery
  current.
• Blends in with surrounding components for camouflage effect.
• Plugs into existing harnesses on police package vehicles.
• Is easy to install.

“It’s a very simple device, but very effective,” said Herman Wolff, former fleet manager for the Department of Public Safety, which is equipping all of its new marked vehicles with the system. “It’s easy to install and uninstall, plus it’s inexpensive.”

It seams that a police car is stolen almost every day somewhere in the United States. When this occurs, you and the public are
immediately in danger. After all, a high performance vehicle is in the hands of a car thief fleeing capture during a high-speed pursuit
with total disregard for our laws and human life. These individuals often have the light and sirens blaring, while listening to the police radio to avoid roadblocks, tire deflation devices, or any other countermeasures. The situation quickly becomes your future nightmare.

In Brandenburg, KY, police officers handcuffed a drunk-driving suspect behind it back, placed him in a cruiser and put the seat belt across him. The suspect was secure when the officers left him to search his car. Somehow, the suspect climbed into the front seat of the patrol car and drove off at high speeds with the cruiser’s lights flashing. He traveled nearly seven miles before crossing the centerline and crashing head-on into an oncoming car. Both drivers were instantly killed. The driver of the other vehicle was a 57-year-old woman returning home from a visit with her daughter and her two grandchildren, ages 13 and 4. The crash occurred only a few miles from the woman’s home.

In Pompano Beach, FL, a car thief was placed under arrest with his hands cuffed behind his back and then put in the back seat of a police car. The vehicle was left running to keep air conditioning and emergency lights functioning. As deputies were outside the police car completing their paperwork, this subject got from the back seat of the police car to the front. This subject then floored the accelerator and drove the police car toward the officers driving with his knees. A Broward Sheriffs officer, fearing for his life, fired his weapon at the subject behind the wheel of the oncoming vehicle. The suspect received a single bullet wound to to the chest and continued to drive for 12 blocks as the police car sideswiped another vehicle before it crashed into a condominium complex.

In Philadelphia, a stolen cruiser quickly escalated into a national media frenzy like the Rodney King incident. The simple fact that he
stole their police car changed the handling methods of this prisoner. Enough said about this incident.

These are just three tragedies out of dozens that occurred during this past summer involving stolen police cars. For every one incident
that attracts national media attention, more than a hundred others are quickly and quietly dealt with. Every stolen police car incident
leaves agencies open to liability and officers vulnerable.

In most stolen police car situations, the law enforcement officers do everything they are trained to do. They follow standard operating
procedures, and are in the general vicinity of the vehicle. Officers must leave prisoners unattended in running cars as is done on very
cold days or very hot days. They must also leave their cruisers running unattended to provide power for the emergency lighting, computers, radios, heaters, air conditioners, and defrosters.

It is always a liability for an agency to leave a cruiser running unattended. When rapid departure is required, officers must be able
to immediately. They can’t fumble with keys or codes. Whenever someone steals a police car the agency faces liability, lawsuits, damaged vehicles, lost weapons, or worse.

More and more attorneys are looking at the liability involved and they are looking at this issue as preventable with today’s technology.
During the past 15 years, inexpensive devices have become available that prevent unauthorized personnel from driving off with your cruiser. Unique camouflage anti-theft systems blend in with the vehicle’s surrounding components.

How do these devices work? When officers pull up to an emergency situation, they place the shifter into the “park” position and the
anti-theft system is automatically activated. Prisoners, drunks and other unauthorized individuals are not able to shift the vehicle out of park. Law enforcement personnel, however, can quickly and easily deactivate the system and rapidly depart. These devices also give 24-hour protection to vehicles when not in service, at the station or with take-home policy. If the key lock is destroyed, the shifter will not release.

This system plugs into the vehicle’s existing harness. It is a quick and safe installation. Since no cutting or splicing of wires is involved,
it does not void the existing vehicle manufacturer warranties. Without a doubt, it is necessary for officers to secure their vehicles at all times. In the real world, this is impossible unless the vehicles are equipped with anti-theft devices. For less than the cost of a flashlight officers can secure their vehicles.

The End

Mark Tremblay, currently the Vice-President of Tremco Police Products, is a former police officer. Tremco Police Products offers an Anti-Theft System that prevents stolen vehicles. Users include over half of all highway patrol and state police agencies as well as FBI, DEA and ATF. Not one vehicle containing a Tremco device has been stolen, even though many attempts have been made over the years. Mark can be reached at 888-666-3031.