Technology trips up thieves

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT (NORMAN, Okla.)

NORMAN, Okla. April 17, 2008 10:55 am

— Do you know where your cabinet is?
A Norman house builder does, and so do police, thanks to a GPS unit installed in a cabinet that was later stolen.
The same GPS-based technology that has been used successfully to track stolen cars, and more recently, stolen laptop computers, now is being used to locate stolen materials and equipment from construction sites, police said.
A homebuilder, tired of having cabinetry and granite countertops disappear from his sites, recently concealed a GPS device inside a custom cabinet on a site in far south Norman. When he checked the site Monday morning, he found the cabinet, along with several other items, missing.
The builder was able to locate the cabinet via the Internet by transmissions from the GPS device, and he called police. Officers went to the location provided by the builder and found a house that appeared to be in stages of remodeling. Police saw items with markings indicating they belonged to the builder. They came back later with a warrant and directed the builder to page the GPS unit via the Internet to cause it to sound an audible alarm. Police then could hear the alarm emanating from a nearby outbuilding.
Police found cabinets, plumbing fixtures, granite counter tops, and other items apparently taken from home construction sites. In all, property associated with nine construction sites and involving two builders was recovered, with a total value of about $45,000.
No one was at the house when officers arrived, and no one was arrested immediately, police said.

The Norman (Okla.) Transcript