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Chapel Hill Department of Public Safety announces program to stop bike theft using GPS device

The hunter has become the hunted.

The University’s Department of Public Safety announced a program Tuesday that will use a bicycle equipped with GPS as bait in an effort to catch potential thieves and discourage campus crime.

The program will utilize CatchAThief, a matchbox-sized GPS device attached to a DPS bicycle. If the bicycle moves outside of a certain zone, officials will receive an immediate text message or email alert.

Police can then monitor the device’s real-time movement through an online system.

DPS purchased the device for $150 and will pay an additional $30 per month for its use, according to a departmental press release.
N.C. State University police reported a 92 percent decrease in bicycle larcenies after they began using the GPS system, according to the release.

Randy Young, spokesman for DPS, said he hopes the device will help catch and deter bike thieves as word of its use spreads.

“We don’t anticipate it will curb every larceny on campus, but obviously bikes are something that this technology lends itself to,” Young said.

And the department might not stop at bicycles.

“We will also continue to investigate how this technology can be used to track other items that could be stolen on campus,” Young said.

Jeff McCracken, chief of campus police and director of DPS, said larceny is the most common crime at UNC, and the new technology is versatile enough to be used to deter theft of other items in the future, such as backpacks or laptops.

Sophomore Stefan Hansen, who said he has had his bicycle stolen twice in three semesters, said he thinks the program will be effective if DPS publicizes the use of the tracking system.

“People who steal bikes need to know that campus police are looking for them,” Hansen said.

Sophomore Zoe Moore said she’s unsure of how effective the plan will be, saying it will not eliminate theft by members of the larger community because there is no easy way for them to know about the system.

Last week, a Durham man attempted to sell a stolen bicycle in the Pit, campus police said.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.

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