U.S., Canadian car theft cops convene here
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| CHRIS COATES PHOTO Police officials look at display for a global positioning tracking device Tuesday in East St. Louis. More than 200 auto theft investigators flooded the Casino Queen Hotel for the 45th annual Midwest Motor Vehicle Theft conference. |
"We can help. We have members across the globe," said McDonold, a detective in the Baltimore County Police Department and a vice president for the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.
The North Central Regional Chapter on Tuesday kicked off its 45th annual Midwest Motor Vehicle Theft Conference, a three-day seminar at the Casino Queen Hotel in East St. Louis focusing on everything from street racing and bait cars to stolen farm equipment and voice analysis.The seminar was attended by most of the police and sheriff departments from the region, and representatives from 13 states and two provinces in the chapter, which includes a wide section of the Midwest and plains states, from Nebraska to Michigan and Minnesota to Kentucky, and parts of Canada.
The event included a mix of seminars, presentations and new gadgets to curb car thefts, including an array of global positioning and surveillance technology.
St. Clair County Sheriff Mearl Justus said the seminar is important in keeping officers on top of the latest technology and prevention techniques.
"Just walking in this place, you can see all that's available," he said Tuesday at the seminar's launch. "It's a new world, and it's good you're meeting this way."
One development over the past several years, McDonold said, is the explosion of highly-trained thieves, many with backgrounds in insurance fraud, electronics and document falsifying. New technology, such as electronic keys, have made such expertise almost necessary, he said,
"Auto theft is more professional," he said.
The new safeguards mean motorcycles remain the easiest to steal, since locking devices are usually minimal.
"They are easy to take apart and most of their parts are not identifiable," McDonald said.
He said the ease at which vehicles and parts are moved across state lines means departments have to keep tabs on each other and share information about trends.
"We will stay as long as you stay with us," said McDonold, a member of the Baltimore Regional Auto Theft Team. "Together, we can make a positive impact."
That's good news for car owners everywhere, said East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr.
"I feel like the safest civilian in all of the United States right now with all this law enforcement around," he quipped.
The conference ends Thursday.
