APB
The
NOVEMBER 2014 • VOLUME 20, NO. 3
OHIO INVESTIGATORS
WIN THE 2014 HEAVY
EQUIPMENT AWARD
PAGE 29
2015 63RD
ANNUAL TRAINING
SEMINAR
INFORMATION
PAGE 38
PICTURED
HEIDI JORDAN,
NEWLY-ELECTED IAATI PRESIDENT
PAGE 6
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUTO THEFT INVESTIGATORS
A Thank You to Peter Perrien
Peter,
Words are inadequate to thank you enough for the honor you bestowed upon me the
IAATI Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. I know the IAATI President’s Award is not given
every year and the recipient is chosen personally by the
President. I was truly honored and shocked, and some were
more shocked that I was almost speechless. I consider you
and your wife, Sandy, as a true friends. I’m truly blessed to
be a part of this big family of auto theft investigators, and I
value the time I get to spend with you and the other officers.
This is an amazing group.
Thank you, Peter, for choosing me for this honor.
Sincerely,
Kat Anderson
2014 IAATI President’s Award Winner
APB
The
2015
Auto Theft Training Se
Seminars
Submitted by Past Pres. Denny Roske
Training is one of the most important areas that
we as auto theft investigators need to continually
seek out. With the trends in auto theft changing on
a daily basis, we need to stay on top of these new
developments that can assist us with prevention,
identification, investigation, and prosecution. If
you know of any other auto theft courses that are
being offered, please contact me at: iaatidenny@
aol.com IAATI will post course announcements
on our web site & the IAATI e-news during the
year. Always check the IAATI web site for training
information at: iaati.org The following auto theft
training courses are being offered at this time:
NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU
When: Continuous
Where: www.NICBTraining.org
Info: (NICB) on line training web site,
Click On: courses
TEXAS DPS AUTO THEFT SCHOOL
When: Jan. 26th – 30th
Where: Corpus Christi, Texas
Info: Georgia Henwood,
[email protected]
EUROPEAN INSURANCE TRAINING
When: Feb. 26th – 27th
Where: Riga or Jurmala, Latvia
Info: Arne Knippel,
[email protected]
AUSTRALASIAN BRANCH
When: Mar. 22nd – 24th
Where: Perth, Western Australia
Info: John Hambridge,
[email protected]
TEXAS DPS AUTO THEFT SCHOOL
When: April 6th – 10th
Where: Austin, Texas
Info: Georgia Henwood,
[email protected]
Continued on next page
November 2014
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF AUTO THEFT INVESTIGATORS
Established and Chartered Since 1952
November 2014 • Volume 20, No. 3
2014-15 OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Heidi M. Jordan
National Insurance Crime Bureau
Epping, NH
(847) 544-7977
[email protected]
FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT
Todd M. Blair
National Insurance Crime Bureau, Volusia
(FL) SO
(386) 473-2009
[email protected]
SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT
J.C.B. Hans Kooijman
ITEB Schadeservices BV
Rotterdam, N/A
+31653210071
E-Mail: [email protected]
Third Vice-President
James (J.D.) D. Hough
LOJACK
Arizona DPS (RET’D)
Gilbert, AZ
602-725-7625
[email protected]
FOURTH VICE-PRESIDENT
Joey Canady
Heart Of Texas Auto Theft Task Force
Marble Falls, TX
254-757-0701
[email protected]
TREASURER
Robert C. Hasbrouck
Port Authority of NY & NJ PD
(718) 630-4512
[email protected]
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
John V. Abounader
NYState DMV Auto Theft
(315) 853-1913
[email protected]
DIRECTORS
MARTHINUS H ODENDAL
Zonke-Unicode
South African Police Service
Johannesburg, Gauteng
[email protected]
WILLIAM BIONDO
General Motors, Warren, MI
586-899-0758
[email protected]
WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSON
Arvada Colorado Police Dept
Arvada, CO
720-898-6746
[email protected]
A S S O C I AT E D I R E C T O R S
MARK JOHN BENNEDICK
Suncorp Insurance, Brisbane, QLD
07 3330 0341
[email protected]
PAUL D. THOMAS
CARS PROJECT
ADELAIDE, SA
Office Number: 08-8207 1669
E-Mail: [email protected]
BRAD ANDERSON
Donegal Mutual Ins
Lancaster (PA) P D, Marietta, PA
717-426-1931
[email protected]
GEORGE GRAHAM
Clinton County (Ny) Da’s Office
Investigations And Customs Enforcement
Plattsburgh, NY
518-565-4413
[email protected]
JASON C SMITH
New Zealand Defence Force
New Zealand Police, Rangiora, N/A
[email protected]
PHILIP OPPERMAN
Recoveri, Edenvale, Gauteng
+2711 453 0868
[email protected]
BARBARA A. RAMBO
National Insurance Crime Bureau
Park Forest, IL
[email protected]
SHERI L. TAYNOR
Coban Technology
FL DMV, Retired, Edgewater, FL
[email protected]
DAVID J.A. NORTHEY
Retainagroup Ltd., Luton, N/A
+44 1582 411566
[email protected]
JARI TIAINEN
National Bureau Of Investigtion
Vantaa, N/A
358-718786265
[email protected]
RICHARD SPALLINGER
National Insurance Crime Bureau
Cortaro, AZ
520-940-8831
[email protected]
DANNY L. SHEPPARD
Galveston Co (Tx) Actf
Dickinson, TX
409-766-4500
[email protected]
AGUSTIN JOSE PATELLI
LOJACK, City Bell, N/A
+541147118871
[email protected]
MICHELLE R. LANHAM
Reduce Auto Theft In Texas Task Force
Denton, TX
940-349-8414
[email protected]
ANA LAURA BRIZUELA
Auxiliar Letrado En Juzgado
Buenos Aires, N/A
0054 11 3910 8454
[email protected]
LEGAL ADVISORS
JOHN P. O’BYRNE
[email protected]
KEVIN P. MCHUGH
[email protected]
DI R ECT O R O F M A R K E TI N G
CARMEN SWANSON
[email protected]
CHAPTER/BRANCH PRESIDENTS
North Central Regional Chapter President
CHRIS A. LENOVER
Peoria Police Department, Peoria, IL
309-494-8385
[email protected]
North East Chapter President
BRAD ANDERSON
Donegal Mutual Ins
Lancaster (PA) PD, Marietta, PA
717-426-1931
[email protected]
South Central Regional Chapter President
DANNY L. SHEPPARD
Galveston CO (TX) ACTF, Dickinson, TX
409-766-4500
[email protected]
Southeast Regional Chapter President
DAVE DEMPSEY
LOJACK For Laptops
Florida Division Of Insurance Fraud
Greensbro, FL
850-320-0296
[email protected]
Western Regional Chapter President
ANNETTE JACOBS
Phoenix (AZ) P D, Phoenix, AZ
602-262-7603
[email protected]
Australasian Branch President
JOHN HAMBRIDGE
Maurice J Kerrigan & Associates
Nerang, QLD
07 55542600
[email protected]
European Branch President
RENATO SCHIPANI
Interpol Lyon, Lyon, N/A
+33472445738
[email protected]
United Kingdom Branch President
MIKE BRIGGS
Thatcham, Thatcham, Berkshire
01635294847
[email protected]
South Africa Branch President
GERALD R. DAVIS
South African Police Service (RET’D)
Mutual & Federal Ins
Johannesburg, Gaueng
[email protected]
Latin American Branch President
DANIEL BECK
LOJACK. Buenos Aires, N/A
+541147118813
[email protected]
3
Pop Quiz
This issue’s question:
TRUE or FALSE
While auto manufacturers have successfully improved on
many anti-theft devices, none has yet successfully marketed vehicles with inclination sensors or intrusion sensors.
TRAINING continued from previous page
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CHAPTER
When: May 4th – 7th
Where: Novi, Michigan
Info: Cheryl Zofkie, [email protected]
NORTH EAST REGIONAL CHAPTER
When: May 11th – May 14th
Where: Long Island, Hauppauge, NY
Info: Thomas Burke, [email protected]
SOUTH EAST REGIONAL CHAPTER
When: June 21st – 26th
Last issue’s question:
What is the name of the French photographer who is credited with
having standardized photographic documentation of criminals?
Answer: Alphonse Bertillon
The answer could be found on page 16 of July’s issue
Where: Spartanburg, South Carolina
Info: Walt Robinson, [email protected]
63RD INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR & WESTERN CHAPTER
When: Aug. 9th – 14th
Where: Phoenix, Arizona
Info: Richard Spallinger, [email protected]
Passages
Nancy Marie Cavallo
Wife of Don Cavallo (NERC Director)
On June 19, 2014
WESTERN STATES AUTO THEFT INVES.
When: Oct. 5th – 7th
Where: South Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Info: http://www.wsati.org/2015conference.htlml
SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CHAPTER
Eleanore McHugh
Mother of IAATI & NERC Past President
Kevin McHugh On May 31, 2014
When: Oct. 20th – 23rd
Where: South Padre Island, Texas
Info: Bill Skinner, [email protected]
Daryl R. Pierson
Of the Rochester (NY) Police Department
At 32 years of age In the line of duty
On September 4, 2014
Henry Mulder
Of the European Branch In the Netherlands
At 67 years of age On September 8, 2014
EUROPEAN BRANCH SEMINAR
When: Oct. 21st – 23rd
Where: Riga, Latvia
Info: Arne Knippel, [email protected]
SOUTH AFRICAN BRANCH
When: Oct. 28th – 30th
Kevin James Brady
Son of Harry Brady Sr. (IAATI & NERC Past President)
Brother of Harry Brady Jr. (NERC Past President)
At 53 years of age On September 8, 2014
4
Weesgerus Police Resort
Modimole, Limpopo
Info: Daan Nel, [email protected]
The APB
Contents
Editor
Stephen E. Gobby
[email protected]
November 2014 • Volume 20, No. 3
FEATURES
Managing Editor
Phil J. Crepeau
[email protected]
SERC Editor
Chris Spranger
Editors Emeriti
James J. Spanel
W.E. Rutledge
The Publisher
Durham Publication, Inc.
[email protected]
The Designer
Jerry Greiner
[email protected]
The APB is the official publication of The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators and is published three times each year: in
March, July and November. The International
Association of Auto Theft Investigators is a
certified NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION and is
sanctioned as such by the United States Internal Revenue Service. The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators was first chartered in 1952. The APB is an educational and
advisory aid to members of law enforcement,
companies and organizations who are working
to suppress the crime of auto theft and related offences, and to assist them in raising the
level of expertise in auto theft investigation.
Articles herein express the views and opinions
of the authors, and are not necessarily representative of the views and opinions of The
International Association of Auto Theft Investigators or the publisher of The APB.
The APB, November 2014, is published
by Durham Publication, Inc. (© 2014) and
by The International Association of Auto
Theft Investigators. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WORLDWIDE. No portion of this publication, neither ads nor text may be reprinted
or reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed written permission of
The International Association of Auto Theft
Investigators or Durham Publication, Inc. ([email protected]).
November 2014
IAATI President’s Message
By Heidi Jordon
From the Editor
By Stephen Gobby
Awards
SAB Chapter News
By Gerald Davis
6 Tommy Hansen
Winner of 2014 IAATI Directors Award
By Dennis Connor
7
NYCPD Wins the NICB Award of Excellence
By Barbara Rambo
9
Ohio Investigators Win the
10 2014 Heavy Equipment Award
By George Kleinsteiber
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
BEELD 2014-07-08
California Highway Patrol Winner of
11 2014 Award of Merit
By Denny Roske
Scrap Cars Worthy of More Attention
By Trevor Archibald
13
Simplifying Your Search – Tips to Use
When Surfing For Information
By Joe Stephenson
The President’s Award
By Peter Perrien
SERC NEWS
By Chris Spranger
14 Dreher Award
16 LATAM Chapter News
32
36
37
IAATI 63rd Annual Training Seminar
40
Calgary man charged in flood-related
VIN cloning case
By Kurt Ernst
42
18
19
Reducing Auto Theft in Pennsylvania A 20-Year Partnership
By Steven R. Wheeler
Hell’s Angels Minnesota Chapter
President Tells All Against His Fellow
22 Gang Members
By Denny Roske
International Panel
31
33
Congratulations to the 2014 SE IAATI
Award Recipients
IAATI 62nd Training Seminar Coverage
30
33
J-Alert Jammer Detector
General Motors’ Vehicle Security
Packages in North America
By William Biondo
30
23 Florida Seeks To Recreate Expanded ATPA
By Neil C. Chamelin
27
Vehicle Security
By Thatcher Research
44
46
47
DEPARTMENTS
Southern African Branch
10
LATAM Chapter News
37
North East Regional Chapter News
12
Western Regional Chapter News
40
North Central Regional Chapter News
17
European Branch News
45
South East Regional Chapter News
18
UK Branch
47
5
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
2 0 1 4 / 2 0 1 5
I A AT I
P R E S I D E N T
HEIDI M. JORDON
National Insurance Crime Bureau
G
reetings everyone and welcome to
IAATI!
I would like to begin by expressing my
sincere gratitude for having been elected
President 2014-2015. Although I have been
on this path for the last 7 years, I still find
it humbling. For those of you I have not yet
met, I joined IAATI through the Northeast
Chapter in the mid-1990s, having served
as the NERC President from 2007-2008. I
write this today as a direct result of the outstanding leadership I observed and learned
from while on the Northeast Board. I thank
each and every one of the Past Presidents,
especially those who gave me that initial
nudge up the ladder.
I would also like to take this opportunity
to thank Past President Peter Perrien for his
leadership and contributions during his tenure. Anyone who knows Peter knows how
deeply he cares for this organization. But
he’s not going anywhere; I look forward to
his input this year as well as the guidance
from the many outstanding past presidents
of IAATI.
In addition, I am grateful to my employer, the National Insurance Crime Bureau
(NICB) and my supervisors without whose
support throughout the years, my involvement in this great organization would not
have been possible. I’ve always believed
that the IAATI/NICB partnership is a perfect fit. Both organizations have a similar
mission with a strong focus on training.
I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge and thank each Chapter and
Branch of IAATI. Our areas may be diverse,
but our challenges similar. Having seen the
growth of IAATI and the addition of more
Branches is very encouraging. A lot goes on
“behind the scene” of IAATI with over 30
committees, comprised of volunteers, who
keep this organization running. We are also
currently exploring further global expansion.
6
In the months ahead, I look forward to
meeting many more of you as I hope to attend as many Branch and Chapter seminars
as possible. This is a volunteer organization,
led by our mission and vision in the hope of
providing our members with the best training available. If any of you have suggestions for training topics, please let your respective Branch or Chapter board members
know. In addition, I can always be reached
at hjordan@iaaƟ.org. While at our Branch
or Chapter seminars, please visit with our
Corporate Partners; the sponsors and vendors, without whom we could not offer this
unique and invaluable training.
This will be an exciting year for IAATI
as we begin to blend technology into our
activities as they pertain to our training seminars, as well as day to day contact between
members. Stay tuned for more news which
will be coming soon! We are beginning to
utilize Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook,
you can find the APB Magazine, and IAATI
Communications. Many of our Branches
and Chapters also have Facebook pages. We
are very new to Twitter, but you can find us
on Twitter @IAATI. Other Branches and
Chapters are also utilizing Twitter.
The percentage of members who have
completed their online profile at www.iaaƟ.
org is increasing, which is a great sign. In
order to enjoy all that IAATI has to offer,
please be sure to update your personal profile
and utilize the information that is available to
you. When in doubt, simply click on the Site
Map for an overview. We will be implementing a new way to contact other members in
the near future, and you can always use the
“Member Search” function to locate a fellow
investigator, anywhere in the world.
Please use the links on our website,
www.iaaƟ.org, which will bring you to our
Chapter and Branch websites. You may find
an interesting article, trend, or a new contact.
I congratulate each Chapter and Branch
President and wish them a very successful year! To our members: through our
Constitution and By-Laws, your Chapter
or Branch Presidents are members of our
IAATI Executive Board. Please feel free to
share any suggestions, concerns or questions with them, which they in turn will
share with IAATI.
Please use your membership in this great
organization to network with other investigators. As a full-time investigator, I can
attest to how valuable IAATI contacts have
been over my 20 years in the field. There
is no other volunteer organization with
IAATI’s focus on training. If you, personally, have training expertise in a particular
area, please contact our 2nd Vice-President,
Hans Kooijman at jcbkooijman@iaaƟ.org.
Hans is Chair of the IAATI Training and
Education Committee. We are always interested in new topics, new presentations and
speakers for our seminars.
During each annual seminar, one message rings true; we are all facing the same
challenges and working similar cases. Most
of us are tasked not only with vehicle theft
investigations, but other related investigations, maybe providing or attending training
or other duties. You are not alone. You have
over 3,000 peers who may be able to provide
you with assistance or an answer you need.
As members, this is your organization.
Share your experiences in the APB magazine and our E-news. When you are finished
reading your APB, give it to a co-worker.
Share your knowledge with other members.
Voice your opinions and suggestions, and
participate on the committees that run our
great Chapters and Branches. If you have any
questions about IAATI or possibly assisting
on a committee, please feel free to contact
your Branch/Chapter President, or myself at
Continued on page 8
The APB
FROM THE EDITOR
T H E
A P B
E D I T O R
STEPHEN GOBBY
[email protected]
WELCOME, DEAR READER, TO THE
NOVEMBER 2014 ISSUE OF THE APB.
O
ur annual training seminar held in Fort
Worth, Texas last August was all we
hoped it would be and more. We had a fantastic turnout with over 250 members from
around the globe flying in to take advantage
of some of the finest auto theft investigation
training anywhere. It was a truly memorable
conference in a splendid city that showed
us some great Texas hospitality. For more
details and photos, please see our complete
coverage further in this issue. My compliments and thanks to the SCRC and their
President Danny Sheppard. And no sooner
do we close the books on one seminar, do
we begin work on the next one. In reality,
the work involved in putting our annual
seminar takes more like two years. Now
the mighty team behind the 2015 Phoenix
seminar is hard at work assembling a program and doing all that goes into preparing
for what promises to be a world-class event.
Third VP JD Hough and WRC President
Annette Jacobs will be staying right on
top of preparations to ensure that all goes
well. They are both fortunate to have Past
President Joe Brosius and Marketing Director Carmen Swanson on hand to help,
both veterans of our 2007 Phoenix seminar.
And if that’s not enough of a dream team,
WRC Past President Richard Spallinger
will be there as part of the team along with
Bob Bowers, DPS Sgt., Auto Theft Task
Force and Bob Owens, Sr. Investigator with
NICB. If you didn’t have a chance to attend
our 2007 seminar, do what whatever you
need to do to make this one. Remember that
Arizona is the Grand Canyon State. Some of
the most breath-taking natural wonders on
the planet are within driving distance of the
conference site. And by all means, bring the
November 2014
family. Make it a vacation. Yes, it’s true that
it will be hot in Arizona that time of year but
accommodations will be inexpensive and
plentiful. Some attractions you might want
to use to tempt the family to come along
are the Grand Canyon; Monument Valley
(where many John Wayne movies were
filmed); Hoover Dam near Las Vegas; historic Route 66; Meteor Crater National Park
and Petrified Forest National Park.We have
a great issue for you with many fine articles
and news from around the globe. Thanks to
all who contributed, who once again helped
make it a success. Our next issue will come
out in April 2015 and the deadline date for
submissions is January 15, 2015. Until then
. . . happy reading!
7
IAATI BUSINESS
Continued from page 6
hjordan@iaaƟ.org. In addition, contact information for members of IAATI’s Executive
Board is always published on Page 3 of the
APB magazine, as well as our website.
As I noted above, we are looking forward
to a year of implementing new technology
within our organization, and some changes
to our website. This is your organization
and your suggestions are always valued.
Communication is the key and our mailbox
is always open!
Don’t forget. It’s never too early to start
planning for next year’s IAATI seminar.
Our 63rd Annual Training Seminar is already
scheduled for August 9th-14th, 2015 at the
Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, AZ. I look
forward to seeing many of you there!
In closing, I thank you for your membership, and your support. I also thank
my family; my husband, Bob and my son,
Derek. They continue to be incredibly supportive and understanding through the days
or weeks of my absence. You are simply
the best. Thank you IAATI worldwide and
here’s to a great year! ■
More about Our President
Heidi Jordan was born in Newport, Rhode
Island and raised in a very rural part of
Massachusetts. Her father entered the Navy
at a very young age and served during World
War II, after which he owned and operated
an electronic part supply company. Her
mother hails from just outside of Munich,
Germany and she has one brother who was
born there. Her mother has been a seamstress, accountant, restaurateur and realtor.
Heidi was very fortunate to have two incredibly hard-working and driven parents. Neither
her brother nor she ever made the mistake of
saying “I’m bored.” They would have quickly
learned how much there was to do! Having
a brother who is 8 years older than she,
enabled her to learn a lot about vehicles as
one of theirs was always breaking down or in
need of repair. She learned mechanical and
body work at a very young age!
Heidi has 28 years of combined experience with the NICB, being a Sr. Special
Agent assigned to New Hampshire, Maine
and Vermont as well as the insurance industry. Her favorite cases have involved
travelling ½ way up Mt. Katahdin for a
heavy equipment investigation, working the
State of NH’s largest auto theft/fraud case
in history, recovering 7 classic cars stolen
out of a barn (but not noticed missing for
months after the theft,) to resolving an
international theft and fraud investigation
involving a Congolese national and numer-
ous exported vehicles.
Heidi now resides in New Hampshire
with her husband Robert and her son
Derek. Robert is an Assistant Service
Manager with a company that provides
fleet services, towing and recovery for
several state, local and federal agencies,
as well as for private customers. Derek is
a college student, majoring in Business.
He has also been a standout soccer player
for most of his life, starting at the age of
5. It’s been Heidi’s joy to travel with him
throughout the US and Canada to games
and tournaments. That makes her a soccer
mom who can identify a burned vehicle.
The Jordan home is jokingly referred to
as “Camp Shih Tzu” due to the inadvertent
ownership of 4 dogs (in addition to 3 cats.)
The whole family prefers to be outdoors.
In the winter months, you will find Heidi
and her husband in Northern Maine or
in Canada, enjoying the vast expanse of
snowmobile trails. Their goal is always to
end each season with a few thousand miles
on their sleds.
Heidi is fond of quoting Grace Hopper,
Rear Admiral of the US Navy and a computer scientist: “The most dangerous
phrase in the language is “We’ve always
done it this way.”
Letter to the Editor
Sir,
Bob Welsh, Barry Hancock’s business partner at BR European posted the July IAATI
mag for me to look at. I wondered if you
would be so kind as to put a little thank
you note from Zoe, Toby Clive & myself
for the heartfelt tributes they said about
Barry. I read them through tearful eyes and
with a box of tissues in one hand.
Barry was passionate about IAATI and spoke
warmly and admired many people from the organization. He was lucky to meet such a
great bunch of people who became his IAATI
family (as you say). I also feel privileged
to have met many of you at the few confer8
ences I went to and to put faces to names
he so often mentioned.
I shall treasure the magazine, along with
all the others Barry collected over the
years, as there are many articles in them
that Barry wrote which will be lovely to
read from time to time.
Kind regards,
Vanessa Hancock
Editor’s note: In response to our last issue which paid tribute to the late Barry
Hancock, we received this note from Barry’s
widow, Vanessa.
The APB
Awards
IAATI Award of Merit
To honor a person, group, department or
company for outstanding contribution in
the area of vehicle theft investigation or
prevention.
IAATI Insurance
Investigator of the Year
To recognize and honor an insurance
professional for outstanding contribution
in vehicle theft or insurance fraud
investigation
Raymond H. Dreher
Memorial Award
To IAATI members who have distinguished
themselves by service to the association.
NICB Award of Excellence
To recognize any law enforcement
person(s), unit or department, who have
distinguished themselves in area of
vehicle theft investigations, making a
significant impact involving dismantlement
and prosecution of a vehicle theft ring
or chop shop.
IAATI Heavy Equipment Award
To honor any person who has in some way
distinguished themselves in the field of
off-road (farm and construction) equipment
investigation / recovery.
IAATI Component Parts
Markings Award
To honor any person or unit who has
in some way distinguished themselves
in vehicle theft investigations where
VIN labels or micro-dot technology
played a significant part of the success
of the investigation.
IAATI AWARD
YOUR
Auto Theft Team Here
for outstanding contribution
to vehicle theft prevention
or investigation
From the Members of IAATI
For more information about the awards, please see IAATI.org. All nominations should be
emailed to our Executive Director ([email protected]) by the latest May 1 of each year.
A Word from Past President Peter Perrien
t has been a tremendous honor to serve as the President of IAATI this
past year. I would like to thank all the membership for their support. I
had the privilege of swearing in your new President for 2014- 2015,
Heidi M. Jordan. I would like to congratulate Heidi and pledge my support
to her in the coming year.
As President, I attended several of the branch and chapter training
seminars and business meetings. I was pleased to experience firsthand
the exchange of information, the in-depth training, and to meet the
experts in various fields of motor vehicle theft and identification who
presented the training. There were an intense amount of resources the
members were updated on as well as newest trends and information, all
of which make IAATI a one of a kind professional organization. I would
like to thank those chapters and branches for the warm welcome and
hospitality. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend all the branches and
chapter training seminars, and for that, I apologize.
I would like to thank the IAATI 2013 – 2014 officers, the directors,
associate directors and the chapter / branch presidents for their
support, hard work, and input and many hours you all gave of your
own time working on committee assignments to the betterment of this
organization. This past year, we have worked on several web site projects
and technology updates that will soon put additional IAATI resources at
the members’ fingertips. We will all soon see improvements in the APB
publication that have been in the works this past year. There are two
I
November 2014
directors, James H. Kautz, Jr and Dennis Connor, who I would like to
thank for their professionalism and dedicated service to IAATI for many
years. They both elected to step down from the board in August.
I truly hope that all those who attended this year’s seminar in Fort Worth
enjoyed the training provided, the vendor exhibits, and the opportunity
to network with the men and women of the various countries. Over the
past years, IAATI has tried to build a better relationship with other law
enforcement organizations. I was very pleased that this year we were
able to have the IACP President, Yousry Zakhary, as a keynote speaker.
A big thanks to our VP, Todd Blair, the seminar chairperson, and Wayne
Browning, the on-site coordinator from the SCRC, for their hard work this
past year making sure the seminar was a great experience for all. I would
also like to thank the Fort Worth Police Department and its Auto Theft
Task force members for their support during the seminar in making sure
that all transportation needs were met for the off-site events. To the SCRC
President, Danny Sheppard, and the SCRC /TAVTI onsite people, once
again you all did an outstanding job co-hosting the IAATI seminar.
I want to thank my wife, Sandy, and my employer, the LOJACK Corporation,
for their support over the past years as I made this journey with IAATI.
“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”
- John F. Kennedy
Respectfully, Peter Rigby Perrien
9
SOUTHERN AFRICAN BRANCH NEWS
President’s Message
Other Branch News
By Gerald Davis
A
s you read this message my three year
term as the president of
the Southern African
Branch of IAATI will
have come to an end.
The past three IAATI
years have kept me
busy and it has been an
exciting and rewarding
time for me. One of
the many highlights of
the past three years has
been the preparation
and successful bid for
hosting the 65th international training seminar in Cape Town, from 20 to 25 August 2017.
The bid was made with the blessing of you, the membership and I
know that as the date draws swiftly nearer we will make this a very
memorable and proudly South African seminar. One to remember!
A further highlight was the request by the South African Police
Service for the SA Branches assistance in providing basic computer
literacy training material for the Detective Service. I am proud to
say that this module, with preformatted statements and a competency test has been completed and handed to the Detective Service for
future training. This module was also given to the IAATI for distribution and use by the branches and chapters worldwide. A branch
achievement of note! Thank you to the board members and our
IAATI SAB Partners, Recoveri, Tracker & Zonke- Unicode for the
funding, time & assistance in providing this important and valuable
training tool.
Apart from the above, there have been numerous other highlights
throughout my term and I wish to thank all of the board members,
past and present over the three years for their loyal and diligent voluntary work (each in their own unique way) in keeping the branch’s
wheels turning.
It would be remiss of me not to thank all of our partners and sponsors, without whom we, as a purely Not for Profit and a voluntary
association would not be able to perform this important task in training and combating vehicle crime. Your time and contributions are
appreciated.
Going forward, we, the membership and the new board, are
IAATI SAB. It is us that make up this great organisation and I therefor pledge my continued support for as long as I am able and I know
that you all will too, as this is our passion and what being involved
in the suppression of vehicle crime is all about. It is who we are! ■
10
Membership
Our membership as of September 2014 remains at 254 active paid
up members, an achievement in itself.
Training
IAATI SAB Cross Border Vehicle Crime Investigation Forum
Through diligence and sheer passion for the job, basic vehicle
identification and vehicle insurance and financial crime related
training was conducted in Swaziland and in the Limpopo Province
during the month of August. One Hundred and Forty (140) Ports of
Entry police, customs and judicial members were trained. The training was funded & provided by members of Telesure, Standard Bank,
the South African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB)to name a few.
This type of training and awareness of vehicle crime is not only
commendable, but is also a worthy undertaking, one which benefits
all of us in the combating of vehicle crime to make the country and
indeed the region, a safer place.
IAATI SAB
Website & Facebook
Our social media section led by Riaan Coetzee is gaining
momentum and the Facebook page which appears to have a faithful
following, is turning out to be a useful vehicle crime information
sharing tool.
Following a board decision to provide better funding, our new
interactive web site is currently under construction with the help
of Philip Opperman. Watch this space for more news on this and
from the International on future Apps to keep us all in touch and
informed.
In closing, please keep the dates, 20-25 August 2017, for the 65th
International diarised and top of mind. If anyone is interested in
assisting please contact me or the rest of the board.
Next year’s annual SAB training will take place at the usual, cost
effective venue, SA Police Resort & Conference Centre, Weesgerus,
from 28-30 October 2015. Please offer your support for this seminar
and if you have a training subject that you can present, or wish
to have presented, advise us so that we can include it. Remember
this is your training seminar and we will try our best to make it
worthwhile and interesting.
Regards and thank you to you all. ■
The APB
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: BEELD 2014-07-08
T
hanks to the South African Police Service and the vehicle tracking company
Tracker, Gauteng men can now again have
a drink without looking over their shoulders
after a syndicate that drug people and then
steal the vehicles from them was arrested.
Four women and two men, all of them
South African citizens were arrested on
Monday after a very long investigation.
They were arrested in Soshanguve, north
of Pretoria. Tracker found stolen VW Polo
at the premises of one of the suspects. This
suspect co-operated in the
investigation and pointed out
the other suspects involved
in this syndicate. According
to information, the owner
of the VW Polo was at THE
BLUE ROOM- a known
pub in Pretoria. A woman
approached him. He was
taken to a guest house in
Soshanguve, where a drug
was poured in his drink.
When he woke up on Sunday
night, he realised his vehicle
and valuables were taken. He
November 2014
informed Tracker and the tracking system in
his vehicle was activated. The suspects were
arrested with plasma TV’s, other electronic
equipment and medicine (sleeping pills and
cough syrup) in their possession.
According to the SAPS, the women told
them they found the medicine in one of
the vehicles they stole. Information was
received that the medicine was taken from a
hijacked truck.
The women drugged their unsuspected
male companions with a mixture of ten
sleeping pills and cough mixture. They then
poured it in the drink that the male was
drinking. A couple of the men ended up in
hospital. Two of the suspects were caught on
CCTV after they took a vehicle from a man.
They stopped at a garage where they tried
to withdraw money from the man’s account
using his bankcard. This man was drugged
in Oliewenhoutbosch, Centurion and his
BMW taken.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 24
vehicles were taken using this modus operandi by the syndicate. Eight
of these vehicles have been
recovered. The women went
to pubs at the News Café
in the suburbs of Sandton,
Hatfield, Menlyn, Centurion
and Pretoria Central to pick
up men and drug them. The
men took them to a Motel or
their house.
According to information
some of the stolen vehicles
were sold with false number
plates and registration papers
to unsuspected people. ■
11
NORTH EAST REGIONAL
CHAPTER NEWS
President’s Message
By Brad Anderson
T
he Northeast Regional Chapter of the
International Association of Auto Theft
Investigators has a proud, strong and vibrant
history dating back to 1972 when our founding fathers first received their charter. Our
heritage over the past 42 years includes the
fact that many of our members have served
both at the Regional Chapter level, as well
as at the International level.
During the International Seminar this
past August in Forth Worth, Texas this
legacy continued, as several NERC members were elected to serve in a variety
of positions on the Executive Board of
IAATI. Heidi Jordan was elected President,
John Abounader was elected as Executive
Director and Robert Hasbrouck was elected Treasurer. Kevin McHugh was elected
to serve as a co-legal advisor and George
Graham and I were both nominated to serve
as Associate Directors. Stephen Gobby was
again elected to serve as the APB Editor
and Phillip Crepeau was elected to serve as
the Managing Editor. The trust, confidence
and faith that have been bestowed upon
these NERC members by the Nominating
Committee, their International colleagues
and the membership at large is taken very
seriously. We aspire to live up to the legacy
of those who have served before us.
While speaking of the International
Seminar, I would be remiss if I did not mention the fact several NERC members were
acknowledged for their accomplishments.
Bob Hasbrouck received the Raymond H.
Dreher Memorial Award, which is an award
named in honor of the late Raymond Dreher
of the Missouri Highway Patrol. The award
is given to an IAATI member who has distinguished themselves by service to the association or for other outstanding acts in the
vehicle theft field. Candidates are selected
based upon their extraordinary service to the
association and not for those services normally required of the association, members or for
significant acts bringing favorable credit to
12
the association or its members. Needless to
say, Bob was quite surprised, a little emotional (speechless) and very humbled to receive
such an award and recognition.
New York City Police Detectives Michael
Simeone, Richard Straus and Daniel
Fox were awarded the NICB Award of
Excellence. This award is a joint venture
between the NICB and IAATI and is given
to law enforcement person(s), unit or department who have distinguished themselves in
the area of vehicle theft investigations, making significant impact involving dismantlement and prosecution of a vehicle theft ring
or chop shop.
The IAATI heavy equipment award was
given to the following members of the Ohio
State Highway Patrol (Sergeants Michael
Russell, Dennis Goodhart-Retired, Troopers
Jack Reno, Thomas Hlligan, Rick Sprague,
Mike McCarthy), Cortland (Ohio) Police
Department (Det. David Morris), Goshen
Township (Ohio) Police Department (Lt.
Mike Golic) and the NICB
(SA John Paskan).
Another interesting part of our heritage
is that the Northeast Chapter of IAATI
represents two great countries, the United
States and Canada. Granted, representing
more than one country is not so unique
in the broader context of IAATI. So what
makes my statement unique then? Well, the
fact that both countries’ flags are always
displayed and both national anthems are
always played.
The tradition with respect to flag display
is governed by protocol. Assuming there is
an elevated speaker’s platform, as is almost
always the scenario at an IAATI venue, the
national flags are always displayed to the
speaker’s right. The host nation’s flag would
be placed to the far right with the other
national flag being posted to the left. Both
flags are displayed at the same height.
The placement of the flags on logos may
tend to give the opposite appearance, how-
ever, in reality it is much the same with the
host country’s flag taking its place to the
right of the logo. Imagine that you are facing the same direction as the logo itself. As
you look at the above logos, you can see that
the US and Canadian flags are reversed on
each logo. So if the seminar is hosted in the
United States, the US Flag is to the reader’s
left but in reality it is to the right of the logo.
To the contrary, if the seminar is hosted in
Canada, the Canadian Flag is on the reader’s
left, which again is to the right of the logo.
With respect to the national anthem, the foreign anthem is supposed to be played first as
a courtesy, and the host country’s anthem is
played last.
Over the years there has been much
discussion among the Chapters/Branches
concerning the use of Conference Direct for
our annual training seminars. Traditionally,
NERC has been resistant to using an outside
vendor to assist with the negotiations of
contracts and organization of our seminars;
however, after conferring with colleagues
from the various chapters and branches, I
invited Mr. Joe Vina to address and/or attend
our recent Board meeting, which was held
on October 22nd, 2014 in Saratoga Springs,
NY. Mr. Vina prepared a presentation and
addressed the Board via a conference call.
Note: This correspondence was prepared
in advance of Mr. Vina presentation, so
Continued on nect page
The APB
Scrap Cars Worthy of More Attention
By Trevor Archibald, Ottawa Police Service (Canada) / NERC Director
I
have been in Auto Theft investigations for over 6 years, a tenure
that pales in comparison to many, but may allow me to say that
I have an understanding of specialty. I agreed to author an article
relating to vehicle thefts and scrap metal and the relationship between the two.
What are the odds that in the day of the deadline, a 2004
Chevrolet pickup drives up my laneway with a small open
utility trailer with a half-load of miscellaneous scrap piled
inside? A man of significant stature continued passed the
walkway that leads to the door from which I watched
his approach, and he walked up to my 2004 Pontiac
Montana van that sits in the lane un-plated. He
studied the van as though he were making the calculations of a savant. As I approached him in my
most civilian manner, he engaged me with keen
interest in the van. Alas, he wanted the vehicle
for scrap and I just happened to want rid of it.
When it was all said and done, I haggled him up
to $225 cash, no need for me to dig up the ownership, no phone calls or waiting for a tow truck to
come and drag it away.
The price of steel at two competing scrap metal
yards, two days prior to scrap guy coming by, was
$150/metric ton. The scrap yard is 40 kilometers or 25
miles away and they are not giving away gas at the pumps to
make hauling steel any less expensive. My crude math leaves me
with “this guy is not getting rich off me, but I am somewhat ok not
getting ripped off”. In mere minutes, poof, the van was gone and
two happy men carried on with their respective days – legitimately.
Think about it though, no ownership, no receipt, no exchange
of names or phone numbers, all there really was (short of an eyewitness) was his memory of the event and my quick study of his
vehicle and plate number (there was of course no real study of his
physique required to have it committed to memory). It is quite
likely that in the coming days, there would be no physical evidence
of that van anywhere in the world because Ottawa has a metal
processing facility that renders full vehicles to ball bearing
sized bits of shredded metal. After a few weeks pass, it is
likely that there may not even be video available at the
facility, because there is no legislation requiring video
be captured let alone retained for any period of time
(if a state or province has such legislation, I was
unable to find it).
The above lays out one of many schemes of
“owner involved” vehicle theft reports which
results in insurance frauds.
Look on your street, or the parking lot at the
mall or any high vehicle density parking area and
you will see a wide selection of vehicles that are
relatively easy to steal. Many of those cars are of
little value to the sophisticated auto theft networks
or ultimately to identified criminal organizations.
The less sophisticated, I would venture to say the
smaller networks or the soloist, vehicle thieves see the value
in these vehicles. Scrap, as I mentioned, is worth $150/metric ton
at the time of writing this article. The clichéd Dodge Caravan from
the mid 2000’s weighs about 1744kgs. This is about $260 worth
Continued on page 41
Continued from previous page
the outcome was not known at the time of
this writing.
On a final note, NERC’s 43rd annual
training seminar is scheduled for May
12 - 15, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel,
1717 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, New
York (Long Island). The seminar co-chairs
are NYPD Detectives Thomas (Tommy)
Burke and Joseph (Joe) Guidice. They can
be reached by phone at 718-353-7806 or by
email at [email protected] or joseph.
[email protected]. Information to be posted
on NERC’s web site.
Always Stay Alert, Stay Smart and
Remain Safe!
November 2014
More About
NERC President Brad Anderson
Brad Anderson is from Lancaster,
Pennsylvania and has been married to
his wife, Melissa, for 19 years. They have
one daughter, Kari, age 9. He began his
law enforcement career in 1986 with the
Lancaster (PA) City Police Department
where he served in Patrol and Criminal
Investigations Division. He formed and
supervised the Department’s first Auto
Theft and Insurance Fraud Unit, where he
successfully secured and managed grant
monies to ensure the continued operation
of both units. He retired from the police
department in 2007 after completing 21
years of service. Brad began his second
career as a Special Investigator with
Donegal Mutual Insurance and currently
holds several insurance fraud related
designations. He graduated from the
Pennsylvania State Police Academy and
Elizabethtown College with an Associate’s
in Science in Business Administration. He
has also attended numerous police, fraud
and leadership/management schools. He
has served in various positions with the
NERC and is the current President. He
was also recently elected to serve as an
Associate Director with IAATI.
13
NORTH EAST REGIONAL
CHAPTER NEWS
Simplifying Your Search – Tips to Use
When Surϐing For Information
By Joe Stephenson
I
f you are still just putting words in your
search engine and hoping for the best, or
giving up when you see 1.6 million results
coming back, then this article is written just
for you!
I am often asked what I do first or how I
start my searches and while it does depend
on what the subject matter is, one thing does
not change – I eventually, and usually very
quickly after the assignment, start searching
on the Internet. Now, this doesn’t mean that
I just throw information in and hope for the
best – I use a systematic way to search and
use search operators to get the best results,
the quickest way I can.
Now, whether or you know it or not, you
have likely already used search operators
before: quotes around words to get an exact phrase, or maybe the minus (–) sign in
front of a word to eliminate it. These are
search operators, but there are many more
out there, and some even unique to each
individual search engine. We are going to
discuss some of the more popular and useful
ones, but just understand that a little online
research can provide you with even more
tools for your tool box.
The other thing to mention is that it doesn’t
really matter which search engine you use
- you shouldn’t run into problems whether
you are using Google, Ixquick or Baidu. You
may choose to use an anonymous search engine because of what you do or who you are
searching and these tips work just as well on
them. For the purposes of this article I will
be using Google since it tends to be the most
popular, at least here in the US.
The key to a successful Internet search is not
how many sites you visit, or how much time
you spend doing the search. There are two
critical things needed for a successful Internet
search: understanding what your goal is and
understanding how to search efficiently.
Setting your goals are strictly dependent
14
on your subject matter and your tasks and
you need to determine these as you go – this
article doesn’t do that. This article will focus
on identifying ways to narrow (or broaden)
your search so that you get the best possible
results in the fastest way. Think of it like
this, there may be no point in looking at replies from craigslist or eBay if you’re looking for research on a chiropractor - unless
she is selling stolen medical supplies.
Before I get into specific examples of
search operators, and while I know this
should be obvious, it’s still worth repeating.
Gather as much information about your
subject matter as possible, before and during
your initial search. Emails, telephone numbers, VINs, unique part descriptions, FEINs,
etc.… anything and everything you can.
As we discuss using operators, it may be
easier to see what happens by using a real
world example. Let’s consider that you have
a stolen 1965 Mustang and you are trying
to determine if the vehicle was up for sale
prior to the theft. There are several ways to
do this and different information may lead
you to a quicker result, such as searching
the person’s email address or telephone first
to see what you get back for results. But
what if they had a friend list the vehicle,
or made up a new email to put the listings
out. If you just put [1965 Ford Mustang for
sale] in your search you will get 4.1 million
replies in less than half a second. Do you
really want to look at 4.1 million replies to
see what’s relevant to your particular vehicle? No, and you will probably give up by
the time you get to the third page of results.
This is where search operators can become
very useful.
The use of search operators allows you to
give commands to the search engine in order
to drive how your results come back. As
with anything, over time they can change,
get eliminated or new ones are added. Take
the time to keep current on these examples
and make sure that you start to include
Internet or social media courses to your
yearly training regimen.
There is one operator that some of you
may still be using, but that is generally
excluded with Google, and that is the +
symbol. At one time + was used to make
sure that a particular word was definitely in
your search results, but the + sign has become obsolete with the advent of Google+,
NIKE+ and similar sites that would interfere with that search operator. The +
symbol was equivalent to the word AND,
so when you searched a number of words
you could make sure that word was definitely in your results. Now, Google makes
every term in your search a required word
thereby eliminating the need to use the + or
AND command. Think of it this way, if I
search [1965 Ford Mustang for sale] what
Google is really seeing is [+1965 +Ford
+Mustang +sale] or [1965 AND Ford AND
Mustang AND sale]. Why is the word
‘for’ not included? That’s because it’s too
common, so it is one of the words that is
excluded automatically by Google. While
you don’t need to use + or AND for Google
anymore, if you are using search strings or
a different search engine, remember that
AND is still a valid command.
We use “quotes” to search for an exact
word or phrase, such as “Ford Mustang”.
This will give you results with this exact
combination, just the way you’ve spelled it.
So if you spell something wrong, or there
are other variations (like Michael, Mike or
Mikey), you won’t get those results back.
So if the website says ‘Ford developed the
Mustang’ you won’t get that reply back unless it says ‘Ford Mustang’ together somewhere else in the text.
The – (minus) sign is used to exclude a
specific word from your search. If you are
searching for a Mustang but are getting a
lot of results about horses, then you could
eliminate the horse results by searching
[Mustang -horse].
A wildcard search can be done using an
asterisk [*] to try and see what comes back
The APB
with a combination of other data. It is a great
way to find a variation of a phrase or can
expand or narrow your search. Searching
[airbag scandal] results in just over 5 million
matches but by adding an asterisk [* airbag
scandal] you increase the number of replies
to 57 million with a completely different
order for the results.
An operator I use with more frequency
is searching for a number range by using
two dots [..] between my terms. If I know I
am looking for a mid to late 1980s car, then
I can search by using [1985..1989 Dodge
Colt] to get just those results. This operator
works well with dates, currency, or any real
number combination.
OR is a great search operator to use
when you don’t want all the terms listed in
your search. For example, if I search [1965
Mustang GT350] I will get results that have
all of these words in them. But if I search
[1965 OR Mustang OR GT350] then I will
get results that include any one of these
words, or any combination of these words.
Using OR will significant increase the
amount of replies you get back, but it can be
really useful.
NEAR is similar to using quotes, however
it broadens the link between the words a
bit. If you use NEAR and search for [Ford
Mustang] then the reply that says ‘Ford developed the Mustang’ will now come back
even though it isn’t the exact phrase. The
operator NEAR will include any reply that
has the search term within 16 words of each
November 2014
other. This helps broaden your searches and
give you additional replies to research.
But what if you want to search for these
same words but needed them to be within
10 words of each other or you wanted all
replies where the words were within 20
words of each other. You can then use the
AROUND(#) operator to accomplish this.
This operator allows you to specifically set
how many words can separate or be between
your search terms. So searching [Mustang
AROUND(20) Stroker] will result in you
getting any replies where ‘Mustang’ is within 20 words of ‘Stroker’. Just make sure to
have AROUND in caps and no spaces between the parenthesis.
Using parentheses ( ) in your search can
be very helpful and come in really handy
when you use more than one search operator
together in a string. For instance, “GMC
Sierra” “crew cab” -diesel (slt OR lt) will
get you replies that list GMC Sierra crew
cabs, not diesels, that are SLT or LT models.
The [link:] operator will find websites that
link to your search term. For example, if you
are looking to find out all the other websites
or web pages that link to a particular website, say www.hagerty.com, then you can use
this function to find them [link:www.hagerty.com]. Your results are a systematic list
of all the other actual webpages that ‘link’ to
Hagerty. This operator can be really useful
in showing a relationship between body
shops, medical clinics and even attorneys.
To find sites that are similar to one an-
other, use the operator
[related:] This can be
useful if you are trying to
find a similar site to the
one you are familiar with.
If you search for [related:craigslist.com] you will
get back results for ebay,
Kijiji, and other classified
ad sites and even job hunting sites, like monster.
Site: is an incredibly
useful operator if you have
one particular website
that you want to search.
I use it when I want to
search what I call social media lite sites, like
Nike+, Strava, and Runkeeper but it will
work on almost every website. By searching
for someone’s username or real name and
then [site:strava.com] I can search just the
Strava website and just for matches to the
name I have entered. I don’t need to know
this person, be in their circle of friends, or
belong to the site; I’m just looking for any
results to come back on this website with
this person’s name combination. As an
example, if I search [site:strava.com “Ted
Jones”] I will get back various runs and biking trips Mr. Jones has completed. And you
don’t have to limit yourself to just names,
you can use anything…telephone numbers,
websites, part numbers, etc.
Looking for a scientific paper, user’s
manual, or a powerpoint presentation?
Don’t waste your time searching blindly on
the Internet – refine your search to the type
of file you are specifically looking for by
using [filetype:]. This lets you add search
terms and then tells your search engine only
to find you results that are .pdf documents,
or photos in .jpeg format, or powerpoint
presentations (ppt), etc. If I am looking for
an owner’s manual for a Toyota keyless
entry fob, then I will search something like
[Toyota remote keyless security system filetype:pdf] to find it faster. If you do research
or need reference materials, you can’t live
without this search function.
Continued on page 49
15
INDUSTRY NEWS
General Motors’ Vehicle Security Packages in North America
By William Biondo, General Motors, Global Vehicle Security Lead and Advanced Technologies
eneral Motors’ vehicles contain a set of
security features as standard equipment.
Nearly all General Motors vehicles globally contain Cryptographic Immobilizers, door locking
mechanisms, storage areas to keep valuables
out of view, and many other features.
For customers who want additional security
features, General Motors is now offering optional additional security features in many markets.
G
In model year 2013, General Motors began
offering advanced security option packages for
those customers in North America who desire
an additional level of security. This began with
the Cadillac ATS. The security package on
this model consists of a steering column lock,
wheel locks (designed to impede unauthorized
removal of the wheels), a power sounder and an
inclination sensor. The inclination sensor sounds
the alarm when the alarm is armed and tilting
of the vehicle is sensed. The power sounder is a
shielded alarm siren which sounds automatically when denied connectivity to the main battery
through either a power line being cut or through
a fuse being pulled (an attack that has been
seen on vehicles before). As with the inclination
sensor, the power sounder will only trigger an
alarm response when it has been armed so normal maintenance and repair can be conducted
uninterrupted by the alarm.
In model year 2014, General Motors followed with an identical package on the
Cadillac CTS as well as a separate package on
16
the Chevrolet Corvette
The 2014 Corvette’s advanced security package consists of the inclination sensor discussed
earlier in this article and an intrusion sensor.
Most vehicles alarm systems will not sound
upon a window’s glass breakage and a thief’s
entrance into the vehicle or the grabbing of
one’s possessions in the vehicle. The intrusion
sensor on the 2014 Corvette is an ultrasonic
motion sensor which, when the alarm is armed,
will detect interior motion and sound the alarm.
In cases where one leaves a pet or passengers
in the vehicle, the customer can use an override
feature to disarm the motion sensor until the
next alarm arming cycle. Children and pets
should never be left alone in a vehicle.
In the 2015 model year, General Motors
launched another very important set of products
with its all new full size SUVs. These consist of
the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC
Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac Escalade
and Escalade ESV. These products all have standard cryptographic immobilizers and steering
column locks. Each of these products also has
an available advanced security package. The
security package on these products is one of
the most comprehensive General Motors has
offered to date globally. These security packages consist of the wheel locks, inclination sensor,
the intrusion sensor and the power sounder. It
also consists of door security improvements.
These improvements consist of a hardened lock
cylinder attachment system and shielding to
deter “slim Jim” type attacks.
Intrusion Sensor with Override Button
These new advanced security option packages provide customers with an alternative
if additional security features are desired.
Theft methods continue to evolve. Car thieves
are often intelligent human beings who have
chosen to use their skills and creativity for nefarious purposes. Those of us involved in the
development of future products will continue to
strive to understand customers’ security needs
and to develop deterrents to address new attack
techniques. ■
The APB
NORTH CENTRAL
REGIONAL CHAPTER NEWS
President’s Message
By Chris
Lenover, President
I
t was another great time in Cleveland!
This was my second time to Cleveland
since becoming involved in IAATI. I must
say that I have yet to be disappointed. I
would like to say thank you to all of those
who helped foster such a terrific seminar. I
am very aware of how much time and effort
it takes to identify a training site, organize
the training, and present a program that
captured the attention of such a large number of attendees. The cooperation between
organizations and the on-site committee is
absolutely paramount. I believe that this
seminar was as successful as it was due to
that cooperation. Congratulations to all of
those who were instrumental in making this
happen.
Every year we appoint members to new
positions on our respective chapter boards.
I want to say congratulations to all of those
who have taken on the responsibility of a
new position and to those who have jumped
at the opportunity to become involved.
Finally, thank you to the North Central
Regional Chapter board for having the confidence in my abilities and electing me to
the position of President. Know that I will
do my best to continue with the tradition of
assisting in providing our members with the
most up-to-date training that is available.
Now, as I wait for the official beginning
of football season, I think back a few weeks
to the exciting opportunity that I had to visit
AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboy Stadium)
November 2014
while attending the 2014 IAATI Conference
in Fort Worth, TX. Like the stadium visit,
I was equally impressed with the training
seminar. I know that in order to have a successful event, you have to have proper planning, commitment, and a dedicated group
of individuals who are willing to provide an
attendee with a unique experience. I believe
that the goal was achieved. The training
classes provided were very informative for
those new to the auto theft field as well as
for the seasoned investigator. Outside of
the classroom, the off-site activities were
top-notch! The hard work and dedication
put forth to making the conference a success
was apparent.
For all of those who were involved in
making the conference as successful as it
was, I offer a personal ‘thank you’. I was
completely impressed with the hospitality
from the time that I was greeted at the airport, until the time that I was returned to it.
It seemed that any legitimate request made
to one of the on-site committee members
was always answered with a ‘yes’.
Thanks for making my visit to the great
State of Texas wonderful! ■
Chris is a 17 year veteran of the Peoria,
IL, Police Department. Through the years,
he has been assigned to the patrol division
where he initially worked as a walkingbeat officer for the Peoria Housing
Authority before being transferred to the
Street Crimes Unit. During that time, he
joined the Special Response Team as a
marksman and a tactical entry officer. He
then served ten years with the SLATE Auto
Theft Task Force as an Inspector for the
Illinois State Police, where he began his
association with IAATI through NCRC.
Chris is currently assigned to the criminal
investigations division as a financial
crimes detective.
In addition to his regular duties, Chris
is a mobile field force instructor for the
department. Those duties include riot
control tactics and weapons of mass
destruction training. In his career, Chris
has received several awards from the
Peoria Police Department and this year
was honored with a Lifesaving Award.
In his free time, Chris enjoys cheering
on the Dallas Cowboys, watching
NASCAR, and spending time with his
family and friends.
17
SOUTH EAST REGIONAL
CHAPTER NEWS
President’s Message
By Dave Dempsey
Greetings from Florida, the “Sunshine State”!
I
t is an honor to serve the SE Chapter
as its President for 2014-2015.
Now that the 2014 Mobile,
Alabama conference is behind
us, your Executive Board & the
Committees are already hard at
work preparing for both the 2015
Spartanburg, South Carolina conference, as well as moving forward in the
planning of the 2016 joint conference
with IAATI.
In the year preceding a joint conference, the Board has to manage two sets of conference logistics at the
same time. A daunting task just to do one. This term once again,
we will do both. Your Board will work tirelessly behind the scenes
to make both conferences a success. Many of your Chapter’s “Past
Presidents” remain instrumental in the preparations, and have continued to support the SE Chapter year after year with little or no
recognition. These folks are truly the “glue”, that holds the tradition
of this organization together. Your executive Board & the Directors
will work on your behalf to plan, organize, and carry out our primary mission, to provide you seemingly seamless, if not actually,
conferences filled with first rate training in auto theft and fraud
topics, while at the same time blending in general investigative &
specialty topics for the benefit of both our members who work auto
theft full time, and for those who must also work other investigations as well. In addition, the various committees will carry forth
our other responsibilities throughout the year to advance the value of
this organization. For example, your Training Committee organizes
additional classes throughout the year to provide localized training;
the Awards Committee seeks to recognize outstanding investigative
performance by our members across the Region; the On-Site &
Conference Advisory Committees provide direction & quality control; while our newly revamped Website & E-News Committees are
rapidly launching our chapter into the age of social media and networking, for the benefit of our members, our sponsors and our vendors with whom we must nurture strong and lasting relationships.
I wanted to share some of the “behind the scenes” workings of
your chapter with you as these efforts are not captured in surveys
or recognized in our networking venues, yet without them this
traveling roadshow simply could not be successful. Please take the
time at your next conference, be it our SE Chapter’s in Spartanburg,
or IAATI’s joint conference with the SE Region (negotiations for
venue currently underway), to remember to thank these folks who
volunteer their time and expertise on your behalf. Or perhaps you
would like to help, by volunteering to join a committee or seek office?
I would also like to commit to you my support throughout this
year and beyond! I will “lead from the front” and I will work with
each committee & member to support you and our organization’s
mission every day of my presidency. This is what I have to offer, to
give back to you & those who serve you behind the scenes.
As we go forward, please remember this: it’s not about the big
case, or even putting the bad guy in jail. It’s about the people you
work alongside and along the way.
Look out for each other, and stay safe!
Regards. ■
SERC NEWS
By Chris Spranger, SE IAATI News Editor, and Nathan McGanty Media Chairman
reetings from the South East Chapter. Our 40th
Conference in Mobile Alabama was a huge
success, in part due to the tremendous support provided by the Mobile Police Department, our many
sponsors and vendors, as well as the support of our
chapter members. Without the collaborative effort of
all involved, we would not exist, and would not be
able to provide the training our members receive and
Continued on next page
G
18
The APB
NEWS continued
deserve. Thank you again to all who participated. As always we encourage feedback in
order to improve on our Chapter’s presence.
We would like to congratulate the new
board, as well as incoming President Dave
Dempsey. Dave is taking charge of this
chapter instilling innovative new ideas with
membership in the forefront of his vision for
chapter improvements. Already we have noticed a positive change in accountability and
are working hard to provide the best service
to our members looking forward.
We have already begun planning next
year’s conference, to take place on June 2125, 2015, in Spartanburg SC. Our website
www.seiaati.org has all of your registration
and conference details.
2015
Training Conference
International Association of Auto Theft Investigators
Southeast Regional Chapter
41st Annual Training Conference
Congratulations to
the 2014 SE IAATI
Award Recipients
Lifetime Achievement Award
Tom Morton
USAA
T
om has been a long time member of the
Southeast Chapter and is a Past President. Tom has been a faithful member attending every conference, many at his own
expense. Even after his presidency, he has
remained an active member as well as active
on the Executive Board. Over the years he
has chaired several committees and has been
a wealth of knowledge and guidance. Even
when he moved his residency to Missouri,
outside the Southeast Chapter territory, he
remained faithful to the chapter. He never
changed his membership to another chapter
and still traveled to each SERC Conference.
June 21st through June 25th, 2015
Hosted by Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office
The Southeast Chapter of
the International
Association of Auto Theft
Investigators (IAATI) was
established by charter in
1974. The SE Chapter is a
non-profit organization
comprised of current and
retired law enforcement
officers and investigators
of federal, state, county
and municipal agencies,,
Special Agents of the
National Insurance Crime
Bureau, administrative
officers of motor vehicle
departments, as well as
vehicle fraud
investigators from
Insurance companies, all
of whom are dedicated
to the overall mission of
IAATI, which is to combat
and reduce vehicle theft.
Conference Hotel Information:
Spartanburg Marriott
www.marriott.com
299 North Church Street
Spartanburg, SC 29306
Cost: $115.00 per night-single/$125.00 double
(parking & breakfast included)
Cut-off date June 1, 2015
Phone: (864) 591-3120
Use conference code: SE Chapter of IAATI
Conference Fee:
Current IAATI members $200.00 per person
Non-members
$245.00 per person
Conference Registration can be made at
www.seiaati.org
On-Site Coordinator: Sgt. Henry Beck, SCSO
Conference Overview:
President’s Reception
Sunday Evening 6:00 pm
Classes begin 8:00 am
Banquet Wednesday
6:00 pm
Training Topics:
Basic Vehicle ID
Vehicle Finance Fraud
Vehicle Arson
Bait Vehicle/Surveillance
Title Fraud
Hand Writing Analysis
Sovereign Citizens
We are moving forward with upgrading
our website and social media presence.
Sergeant McGanty is our new Social Media
Chairman. He has updated our Facebook
page (search “southeastiaati”) and has created a Twitter account (@seiaati) where you
can follow us for all things SE IAATI. We
hope these tools will become a resource for
our members to communicate, share trends,
training opportunities, and to see the latest
technology available. ■
November 2014
Tom Morton accepting his award.
A specials thanks goes out
to our wonderful sponsors and
vendors who attended this year’s
conference. They provided us with wonderful insight on new technologies
available to combat auto theft.
19
SOUTH EAST REGIONAL
CHAPTER NEWS
Award of Merit:
Detective Adam Hart
Montgomery County
Maryland Auto Theft
I
n January 2013, detectives in the Montgomery County Police Centralized Auto
Theft Section (CATS) noticed a developing
trend of Dodge products being stolen in the
G Sector of the Silver Spring District. Multiple vehicles including makes by Dodge,
Chrysler and Jeep were being targeted by
punching the ignition. They were frequently
recovered nearby or at other theft locations,
clearly linking them. In several cases, the
culprit(s) had switched tags with another,
like vehicle.
Detective Adam Hart has been the bait
car coordinator for CATS since his assignment to the unit in 2010. He has sought,
obtained, and utilized grant funds from the
Maryland/District of Columbia Anti-Car
Theft Committee and the Maryland Vehicle
Theft Prevention Council and many hours of
his time to ensure that the bait cars are operational and outfitted with the latest technology. Due to those ongoing efforts, the Dodge
Stratus bait car was up and running and was
deployed on Thayer Ave, the “ground zero”
of the theft trend.
For several weeks, Detective Hart had
to drive down to the car every few days
as, due to the newly installed Arbitrator
Digital Video system (that he obtained and
installed), the deep cycle batteries that run
the system needed to be changed frequently.
This took considerable dedication and many
late night low battery notifications and false
alarms, resulting in numerous after-hours
battery changes.
On February 10, 2013 at approximately
0022 two unidentified subjects broke into
the car and punched the ignition, starting the
car within 1 minute of entry. They became
nervous when the doors would not open
and immediately broke the driver’s window,
climbed out, and fled. Patrol units arrived on
scene moments later to find the empty car,
still running, with a broken window. Det.
20
Sgt. McFarland Accepting Award on behalf
of Detective Hart.
Hart responded to the vehicle to review and
secure the in car video and provide a lookout.
Approximately two hours later, a citizen
was robbed at gunpoint in close proximity to
the bait car. Det. Hart heard the lookout and
the description matched the subjects from
the bait car video.
Within days, Det. Hart had identified the
two subjects as Daquan Tyler and George
Pickett. He obtained search warrants for
their residences and, just 5 days after the
bait car activation, had coordinated multiple
investigative units from MCPD and Takoma
Park PD to serve them.
Property recovered in the search warrants
could be described as everything under the
sun, including the smoking gun. A prosecutor handling one of the cases described it
this way, “Investigators were literally wading through stolen property.” These two subjects had been under the radar for months,
committing robberies, burglaries, auto
thefts, and thefts from autos in 4 different
districts in the county. Property was located
directly tying them to crimes as far back as
October, 2012. In all, the two subjects have
been linked to 48 cases, many of which have
been/will be charged by Det. Hart or detectives from SSIS, Robbery, Takoma Park
PD, and BIS including: 3 armed robberies, 5
residential burglaries (including at least one
occupied dwelling and one safe job), 16 auto
theft cases, 23 thefts from vehicles, the theft
of a delivered parcel from a residence, one
theft of a firearm, and an unreported home
invasion robbery in Prince George’s County.
Det. Hart’s perseverance and tenacity in this
investigation went above and beyond his duties as an auto theft investigator. Instead of
taking the evidence at face value, he instead
began to dig deeper.
Many of these cases were identified after
Det. Hart seized a large bin filled with dozens of Red Box movies from Tyler’s house.
Investigation revealed that all had been
rented using stolen credit cards from victims
of the above crimes, all of which were previously unsolved. Det. Hart also obtained
and listened to hours of jail calls for both
defendants, his dedication to this revealed a
plot to intimidate one of the robbery victims,
who had already been threatened and had
his home burglarized by associates of Tyler,
while Tyler was incarcerated.
Three stolen guns were recovered including the loaded .38 caliber revolver with a
laser sight that had been described by all of
the armed robbery victims, a semi automatic
Benelli shotgun and another shotgun, both
stolen in a burglary in Potomac, MD.
In all, Det. Hart obtained 6 search warrants in this case alone. Three residences
were searched, DNA was obtained from
both subjects and cell tower information was
obtained, placing the subjects at the scene
of an armed robbery and the phone at their
home. Untold subpoenas were obtained and
served to cell phone companies, Red Box,
etc. He also personally obtained and viewed
hours of surveillance videos from retail establishments along with hours and hours of
jail calls.
Detective Adam Hart could easily have
identified the culprits from his bait car case
and obtained arrest warrants for both, likely
closing a dozen auto theft cases by exception
and this case would have been considered
a success. Instead, he looked at the big picture. He saw that these were bad guys that
deserved more attention, guys that were truly
The APB
putting people in danger on a daily basis.
Thanks to his efforts they are both still in
jail. Tyler was recently sentenced to serve 32
years in prison for the first armed robbery
case he was tried for. He was also convicted
of witness intimidation and is awaiting sentencing. He has been convicted in the first 3
trials related to this event with more pending.
As always we particularly enjoy
showcasing the “Couples of
South East” from our annual
conference. Hope to see everyone next year.
LoJack Award
Detective Curtis Eldridge
Polk County
Florida Sheriff’s Office
On 05/10/13, a LoJack hit on a stolen Ford
F-250 Truck from Hillsborough County led
the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO)
deputies to 4245 Turner Rd in Mulberry.
Once on the scene PCSO deputies found
the stolen vehicle prepared to be repainted. Polk County Deputies observed that the
windshield, toolbox, and tailgate were removed. The VIN plate was also switched and
they were preparing to re-paint the vehicle.
Detectives were called to the scene and it was
determined that this was in fact a Chop Shop
which covered ten acres. The investigation
led by Det. Eldridge resulted in the recovery
of 32 assorted vehicles valued in excess of
$400,000 and the arrest of 4 individuals on
multiple charges.
Detective Curtis Eldridge
November 2014
21
FEATURE ARTICLE
Reducing Auto Theft in Pennsylvania - A 20-Year Partnership
By Steven R. Wheeler, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority
hether you know it or not, you are part of
our team. For twenty years, the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority (ATP A)
has helped coordinate efforts between private
entities, government agencies, and the public to
reduce auto theft and its impact in Pennsylvania.
It’s been a successful endeavor, but we want to
dig even deeper. Let us help your agency and
community fight auto theft.
Police chiefs across the state can look to
us as a resource. Whether it’s connecting your
officers with an auto theft task force investigator
in your area to assist with a case, providing
training on auto theft trends and investigative
techniques, or providing materials and support
for community-based crime prevention efforts,
we are the Authority.
Auto theft is often misunderstood. It’s dismissed as “joy riding” and, at worst, an inconvenience, as many insurance companies will pay
for the victim’s loss. Law enforcement agencies
faced with tight budgets and increasing demands for services have to make hard decisions
about resource allocation. As a result, auto theft
cases may become a low priority.
The reality is that auto theft is often a complex crime perpetrated by professional thieves or
organized criminal groups whose tactics involve
violence, fraud, identity theft, and international
trafficking. As the auto industry develops ne~
methods to prevent theft, ever-evolving criminals initiate sophisticated means to defeat those
efforts. The economic costs to individual victims
and to society are significant. Simpler, unsophisticated methods of stealing cars such as
carjacking are often violent in nature and have
severe consequences. A recent carjacking in
Philadelphia resulted in tragedy when suspects
fleeing a crime scene drove the stolen SUV into
a crowded street comer. Three siblings, ages 7,
10, and 15, who were selling fruit on that comer
to raise money for a church organization, were
killed after being struck by the stolen car. In
many cases, a vehicle is stolen to help commit a
robbery, abduction, or drug deal, or the vehicle is
taken as collateral for unpaid drug debts.
In 1994, there were 52,306 vehicle thefts
W
22
reported in Pennsylvania. As a result, the state
legislature created the Pennsylvania Auto
Theft Prevention Authority. The mission of the
Authority is to establish, coordinate, and fund
activities in Pennsylvania to prevent, combat,
and reduce automobile theft. Since its inception,
vehicle theft in Pennsylvania has decreased 71
% compared with 59% nationally.
The Authority uses no tax dollars. Its funds
are raised through annual assessments paid
by nearly 400 auto insurance companies doing
business in Pennsylvania. For each dollar spent
by the Authority to fight auto theft, there has
been a $7 return on that investment in recovered stolen vehicles and parts. In 2013, we recovered $29 million in stolen vehicles and parts.
The Authority is governed by a seven member
board including representatives of the insurance
industry, the current and former State Police
commissioners, and the Commissioner of the
Philadelphia Police Department. This unique
blend of insurance industry experience, law
enforcement expertise, and prosecutorial savvy
makes for a comprehensive team.
The board reviews grant applications submitted by law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. The grants fund personnel who investigate
and prosecute auto theft cases, task forces,
programs designed to address juvenile auto
theft offenders, and programs to increase public
awareness of auto theft prevention.
In 2014, eleven grants were approved that
targeted the most significantly impacted areas
of the state and provide an auto theft law enforcement component in almost every county
statewide. These grantees include the following:
Pennsylvania State Police, including funding
for troopers and local law enforcement officers assigned to the PSP Eastern, Central, and
Western Auto Theft Task Forces, the Philadelphia
Police Department including funding for officers assigned to the Major Crimes Auto Theft
Squad and other initiatives, the Pittsburgh Police
Department, the Lancaster Police Department,
the Lehigh County Auto Theft Task force supervised by the Lehigh County District Attorney’s
Office, the Northeast Auto Theft Task Force
supervised by the Lackawanna County District
Attorney’s Office, as well as auto theft initiatives
operated by the Allegheny County, Delaware
County, and Philadelphia County District
Attorney’s offices.
ATP A also provides training to law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of
auto theft cases. Training has included cargo
theft investigations, locking & ignition technology, tactical debriefing, physical surveillance, and
courses on identifying stolen ATVs, motorcycles,
heavy equipment, and tractor trailers. Recently,
ATP A partnered with the Upper Allen Township
Police Department in Cumberland County to
provide training on the use of VIN etching equipment to police officers in the area.
The Authority is proud of its successful 20year record of partnership and results. We are
here as a resource, partner, and leader in auto
theft. Let us know how we may assist you.
Police agencies in Pennsylvania who wish to
take advantage of ATPA resources can contact
us at {717) 591-7097, or [email protected]. ■
Steven Wheeler is retired Chief of Criminal
Investigations for the Office of Attorney General
and also served as a police chief in Dauphin
County. He has more than 33 years experience
in law enforcement.
The APB
2014 Training Seminar
in Fort Worth, Texas
FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT
COMMERCIAL AUTO THEFT
2014 IAATI CONFERENCE HOST
ON SITE COMMITTEE
L-R Janet Rogers;
Kat Anderson;
Joey Canady;
Alma Roden;
Michelle Snyder
November 2014
23
2014 Training Seminar
FORT WORTH TR
TRAINING
G SEMINAR WELL W
WORTH THE TRIP!
By Stephen Gobby
IAATI’s 62nd annual traini
ning seminar
minar took place August 18 to 22
in Fort Worth, Texas and by
y all accounts,
ccounts, the event was a resounding success. Close to 250 member
m
ers from 13 countries converged
upon the city’s Omni Hotel to sha
hare and learn about the latest
trends
rends in vehicle theft and to share the most
mo up-to-date techniques
in
n fighting vehicle crime. Thanks aand con
ongratulations to SCRC
President Danny Sheppard, SCRC Past President
P
Wayne Browning, IAATI VP Todd Blair along wi
with the
he whole on-site committee
PRESIDENTS’ RECEPTION
IAATI President Peter Perrien
and wife Sandy
IAATI 1ST VP Heidi Jordan
and NCRC President Chris
Lenover
(L-R) LATAM Branch
President Daniel Beck and
European Branch President
Renato Schipani
IAATI Past President
Clarence Brickey and Erica
President Peter Perrien and the 2013-2014 IAATI Board of Directors
24
The APB
in Fort Worth, Texas
PRESIDENTS’ RECEPTION
(L to R) President Peter Perrien and wife,
Sandy; VPs Todd Blair & Hans Kooijman;
IAATI Director and NCRC Past President
Barbara Rambo
(L to R) SCRC President Danny Sheppard;
IAATI President Peter Perrien; SCRC Past
President Wayne Browning
NERC President Brad Anderson
& Australasian Branch VP Mark
Pollard
(R to L) SCRC President Danny Sheppard; SCRC
Past President Joey Canady; SCRC Treasurer Kat
Anderson; SCRC Secretary Bobby Bailey
Latin American Branch (L-R) Carlos Alberto
Betancur Ruiz; Jorge Ramirez; Maria Serrano;
President Daniel Beck; Irene Molinari; Ana Laura
Brizuela; Omar Nasrala; Agustin Patelli
(L-R) NERC’s Joe Stephenson; NERC President
Brad Anderson; NCRC President Chris Lenover;
NCRC Past President Barbara Rambo
WRC President Richard Spallinger; IAATI Sponsor
Coordinator Carmen Swanson; IAATI Past
President Joe Brosius
November 2014
25
2014 Training Seminar
OPENING CEREMONIES
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1 Todd Blair (NICB), IAATI 3RD VP, Emcee
9
2 Peter Perrien (LoJack) IAATI President, welcoming
attendees
3 Jeffrey Halstead, Chief, Fort Worth PD, welcoming
attendees
4 Betsy Price, Mayor, City of Fort Worth, welcoming
attendees
5 Yost Zakhary, President IACP / Chief, City of Woodway
(Texas) Police Department.
6 William Harbeson, Director of Enforcement, Texas Dept.
Motor Vehicles
7 Danny Sheppard, President SCRC, Galveston County
Sheriff’s Office
8 Wayne Browning, Fort Worth P.D., Past President SCRC,
10
On-site Chair
9 The dais at Opening Ceremonies
10 Posting of the Colors by the Fort Worth PD Honor Guard
26
The APB
in Fort Worth, Texas
INTERNATIONAL PANEL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1 David Northey (UK Branch)
6 Hans Kooijman (European Branch)
2 Daniel Beck (Latin American Bramch)
7 Dave Dempsey (South-east Chapter)
3 Brad Anderson (North-east Chapter)
8 Richard Spallinger (Western Chapter)
4 Danny Sheppard
9 Gerald Davis (Southern African Branch)
(South-Central Chapter)
5 Renato Schipani (European Branch)
10 Mark Pollard (Australasian Branch)
11 The International Panel on Vehicle Theft
11
November 2014
27
2014 Training Seminar
BANQUET / SWEARING IN
LATAM President Daniel Beck and IAATI
President Heidi Jordan (center) with
members of the LATAM Branch
Annette Jacobs (Phoenix PD) President
AATIA; Joe Brosius IAATI Past President;
Linda Tacina, SIU American Family;
JD Hough (LoJack); Richard Spallinger,
President WRC & wife Melissa
On-site Chair Wayne Browning and
wife Toshiko
IAATI Past President Clarence
Brickey and wife Erica
The SCRC/TAVTI contingent
The LoJack Team - Bill Skinner, Past
President SCRC; Peter Perrien, President
IAATI; JD Hough IAATI VP; Pat Clancy VP
LoJack; Jerry Cole, IAATI Past President;
Kevin McHugh IAATI Past President
IAATI President Peter Perrien and
wife Sandy
Michelle Snyder (on-site committee); Sandy
Perrien; Kat Anderson (on-site committee)
The Southern African Branch contingent
28
David Northey (IAATI Director); Mark
Pollard (Australasian Branch VP);
Tommy Hansen, IAATI Past President;
Kat Anderson SCRC; Danny Sheppard,
President SCRC
IAATI President Heidi Jordan and
LATAM President Daniel Beck
The APB
in Fort Worth, Texas
Left: President Heidi Jordan
thanking out-going President Peter
Perrien for his service; Above:
President Perrien administering the Todd Blair IAATI VP; Pete Simet, NCRC Past
oath of office to incoming President President; Dave Dempsey SERC President; James
K. Schweitzer, Senior VP, COO, NICB; Chris
Heidi Jordan
McDonold, IAATI Past President, Deputy Director
Maryland VTPC; Jack Simpson Executive Director of
the Maryland Vehicle Theft Prevention Council; Jerry
Cole (LoJack) IAATI Past President
William Biondo IAATI Assoc. Director;
Mike Briggs, President UK Branch; Renato
Schipani (Interpol) President European
Branch.
The 2014/15 IAATI Board of Directors
NCRC Past Presidents: Pete Simet & Barbara
Rambo; NCRC President Chris Lenover; NCRC
3 time Past President Skip Copeland; GM’s Bill
Biondo
President Heidi Jordan administering oath of office to the 2014/15 Executive Board
November 2014
29
2014 Training Seminar
Tommy Hansen
Winner of 2014 IAATI Directors Award
By Dennis Connor, Past President Australasian Branch
T
he IAATI Directors Award is given each year to a person
who is dedicated to IAATI and its mission.
This year, the award was given to IAATI and SCRC Past
President Tommy Hansen for his dedication over the past 30
years to the service, promotion and representation of IAATI
both at chapter and international levels. He continues to work
tirelessly in promoting IAATI in the law enforcement domain.
He has been a wise counsel in board matters that required
knowledge of the history and protocols of this great organization and his chapter. He is a great mentor to members seeking
appointment to board positions at international, chapter and
branch levels. He is also an advocate for the Auto, Burglary
and Theft Prevention Authority in his home state of Texas.
Congratulations, Tommy!
(L to R) IAATI President Peter Perrien; Tommy Hansen; SCRC
President Danny Sheppard;
NYCPD Wins the NICB Award of Excellence
By Barbara Rambo (NICB)
T
he NICB Award of Excellence is intended to recognize any
law enforcement person(s), or department who has distinguished themselves in area of vehicle theft investigations, making a significant impact involving dismantling and prosecution
of a vehicle theft ring or chop shop. This year’s winners have
done just that.
New York Police Department Detectives Michael Simeone,
Richard Straus and Daniel Fox conducted an investigation that
lasted over 18 months and grew into one of the largest NYPD
Auto Crime cases they have investigated. This case shows how
through data analytics, GPS technology, wiretaps, and good old
police surveillance, an investigation can be so successful.
The steal crews were stealing the vehicles throughout the
New York Metropolitan area tagging them and registering them
with washed titles. Many of the vehicles were slated to be exported or to be sold to local or out of state buyers. Cooperation
between the NYPD, NY DMV, NICB, and several other area
law enforcement agencies lent to the immense success of this
investigation.
A total of 311 vehicles were involved in this case with an
estimated value of over $15 million dollars. To date 32 people
have been arrested. Congratulations to the winners!
30
L-R: IAATI President Peter Perrien; NYCPD Detectives Michael
Simeone, Richard Straus, Daniel Fox; James Schweitzer, COO at
NICB
The APB
in Fort Worth, Texas
Ohio Investigators Win the 2014 Heavy Equipment Award
By George Kleinsteiber (Past President NERC)
T
he winners of this year’s Heavy Equipment Award investigated and
successfully prosecuted one of the largest stolen heavy equipment
cases in the Ohio Highway Patrol’s history.
The investigation began in September of 2012 when Cortland Police
Detective David Morris requested NICB assistance in the identification
of three machines left abandoned at a job site. With the assistance of
NICB, Detective Morris determined the machines were in fact stolen.
Detective Morris then contacted Trooper Mike Russell of the Ohio
State Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft Unit and NICB SA Paskan requesting assistance with the interview of Robert Martin regarding thefts
of heavy equipment in a multi-county area. Trooper Russell and SA
Paskan interviewed Martin and determined that he had several properties where he was storing construction equipment. Martin was not forthcoming with the locations of these properties.
The investigators subsequently identified and contacted associates of
President Peter Perrien and SCRC President Danny Sheppard
Martin and landowners where Martin had performed construction and
presenting the Heavy Equipment Award to James K.Schweitzer,
excavation work. This resulted in the identification of several possible
Senior VP and COO of the NICB who accepted on behalf of the
locations where heavy equipment and commercial trailers were stored.
team of investigators.
The investigators then coordinated the use of the Highway Patrol’s aviation division to fly over the properties in a multi-county area verifying
that additional heavy equipment was stored at these locations by Martin.
The investigators developed probable cause for search warrants for
three separate properties in Mahoning and Columbiana Counties associated with Martin/Yukon Excavating. The search warrants were executed
by the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Vehicle Theft Unit and Office of
Investigative Services, Cortland Police Department, Goshen Township
Police and NICB. An additional five consent searches of properties in
the area were performed to gather additional pieces of stolen heavy
equipment.
The case concluded with the defendant, Robert Martin, owner of
Yukon Excavating entering a guilty plea in Mahoning County Common
Pleas Court and being sentenced November 19th, 2013 to a 4 year prison term with an additional 3 year post release control. Martin was also
ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $151,808.62.
This investigation facilitated the recovery of 42 pieces of stolen
heavy equipment valued in excess of $2,000,000 dollars. Investigators
gathered over 111 pieces of evidence in the investiThe investigators and their respective agencies are as follows:
gation and conducted interviews of 17 witnesses and
Detective
David
Morris
Cortland Police Department
victims.
Lieutenant
Mike
Golic
Goshen
Township Police Department
Much of the heavy equipment recovered had their
Sergeant
Michael
Russell
Ohio
State
Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft & Fraud Unit
manufacturers PIN and/or serial numbers removed or
Trooper
Jack
Reno
Ohio
State
Highway
Patrol Vehicle Theft & Fraud Unit
altered by Martin making them difficult to identify.
Trooper
Larry
Skaggs
Ohio
State
Highway
Patrol Vehicle Theft & Fraud Unit
These investigators continue to excel in the recovOhio State Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft & Fraud Unit
ery of heavy equipment and participate in the training Trooper Thomas Halligan
Sergeant Dennis Goodhart
Ohio State Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft & Fraud Unit (retired)
of law enforcement officers statewide through outTrooper Rick Sprague
Ohio State Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft & Fraud Unit
reach seminars conducted with the Ohio Auto Theft
Trooper Mike McCarthy
Ohio State Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft & Fraud Unit
Investigators Association, North East Chapter of
IAATI and the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. Special Agent John Paskan National Insurance Crime Bureau – Midwest Region - Ohio
November 2014
31
2014 Training Seminar
California Highway Patrol Winner of 2014 Award of Merit
By Denny Roske, Past President, (Committee Chair)
Operation Wheel Spin
3
C
alifornia Highway Patrol Vehicle Theft Investigators Jim Eberhart, Tony Padilla, Robert Holtz, and J. Vaughan commenced
an undercover mobile storefront operation dubbed “Operation
Wheel Spin.” This operation was led by the four CHP investigators
assigned to the California Highway Patrol, Southern Division Investigative Services Unit (ISU). The operation was spearheaded by
the investigators as an innovative and modernized method of investigating vehicle theft activity. The purpose of the operation was to
identify career vehicle/motorcycle thieves, theft rings, chop shops,
recover stolen property, and to gather the evidence necessary for
arrests and successful prosecution of those suspects involved. The
overall goal of the operation was to reduce the vehicle/motorcycle
theft rates in Los Angeles County and surrounding communities.
California leads all other states in the US in motorcycle thefts over
the last five years (Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau, 2012
Motorcycle Theft and Recovery Report).
Operation Wheel Spin began with the purchase of outstanding sto1
1 Investigator Eberhart
receiving Award of
Merit from committee
member Bill Skinner
and President Peter
Perrien at the IAATI
Annual Seminar.
2 Investigators
Vaughan, Padilla,
Eberhart, & Holtz.
3 Reports ready to
be presented to the
Attorney General’s
Office, left to right:
Investigators Eberhart,
Holtz, & Padilla.
len sport bike motorcycles by utilization
of confidential resources. Undercover
officers were then introduced into the
case and began to buy stolen property from suspects. In the months that
followed, CHP investigators began to
conduct a series of undercover buy/walk
operations of stolen motorcycles while
maintaining covert status during the investigation. Multiple investigative tools
and resources were utilized, including
undercover operatives with full undercover identities (names, phone numbers,
e-mail accounts, social media internet
accounts, misc. props, etc.), undercover
vehicles, body wire monitoring, audio/
video recording devices, covert cameras,
2
32
The APB
in Fort Worth, Texas
From previous page
Operation Wheel Spin came to an end in December 2013.
California State Deputy Attorney General Natasha Howard, who
had been working with CHP Investigators, was presented with the
case filing in January/February 2013. Since the filing, multiple arrest and search warrants were served, chop shops were identified
and eliminated, and dozens of additional stolen motorcycles were
recovered. The prosecution of the suspects identified through the
undercover operation is currently on-going and many have resulted
in convictions thus far.
use of ground/aerial surveillances, and cold/wall stops to identify suspects and co-conspirators.
Investigators assigned to the undercover operation conducted a
multitude of tasks including, maintaining/organizing the operation
in a systematic manner for all inquiries and reporting procedures;
maintaining multiple logs consisting of the undercover transactions,
intelligence meetings, suspects, evidence, recoveries, undercover
activities, notes, statistics, operational and tactical briefings with
team members and supervisors on the progression and direction of
the operation; planning and conducting undercover operations; status updates with District Attorney/Attorney General; search warrant
authorizations; and report preparation which culminated case filings.
Based upon the experience and knowledge of the investigators
regarding sport bike identification and theft methods and trends, numerous requests for assistance and/or case referrals regarding sport
bikes were forwarded from other CHP areas and law enforcement
agencies. During the tenure of Operation Wheel Spin, investigators
initiated 139 investigations which had a correlation to sport bikes and
the thefts of these types of motorcycles. Some of these investigations
involved allied law enforcement agencies such as the San Diego
Police Department, Las Vegas Metro Police Department- VIPER
Unit, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department- TRAP Unit, Long
Beach Police Department, and the Los Angeles Police Department
Congratulations to the California Highway Patrol for putting together a great undercover operation. ■
The President’s Award
Dreher Award
Operation Wheel Spin Statistics:
139
58
79
51
110
29
9
21
$848,140
Operation Wheel Spin Investigations
Total Undercover Transactions
Suspects Identified
Arrests
Stolen Vehicles Recovered (99 Motorcycles and 11
Automobiles)
VIN Altered/Removed (Motorcycles and/or Engines)
Chop Shops Shut Down
Search Warrants Executed
Total Value of Stolen Vehicles Recovered
By Peter Perrien, Past President
T
his award was created in 1985. It is intended for the President
of IAATI to honor any members who have distinguished themselves by giving extraordinary service to IAATI. It was my honor
to present the President’s Award to Kat Anderson. Kat has worked
at the South Plains Auto Theft Task Force in Lubbock, Texas USA
since 1998 and is currently the Treasurer of SCRC. ■
F
or his outstanding contribution and dedication to IAATI, Past
President Robert Hasbrouck (center) receiving the Raymond W.
Dreher Award from President Peter Perrien (left) and Past President
Tommy Hansen (right). ■
November 2014
33
2014 Training Seminar
SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS
34
The APB
in Fort Worth, Texas
SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS
President Peter Perrien
DIAMOND SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
accompanied by Director of
Marketing, Carmen Swanson
and VP Tood Blair greeted and
thanked all the exhibitors.
GOLD SPONSORS
FLEMING
Cargo Procurement
November 2014
35
INDUSTRY NEWS
J-Alert Jammer Detector
T
racking and Cellular devices not working? Where is my
car/truck/cargo? Jammers deployed to block GPS/Cellular
and Lojack!
Toronto – August 2014
Vehicles and cargo that are being tracked with sophisticated tracking technologies are being stolen at an alarming rate. Companies
and citizens are spending their hard earned dollars to protect their
assets only to find that they are unable to track their assets once they
have been taken. It is commonly thought that power to the tracking
devices was disconnected or the tracking systems are being shielded
and that this is preventing the owner from finding their vehicle/cargo. However, in many cases electronic jammers are being utilized.
Easily obtainable off-shore manufactured Radio Frequency
Jammers are being sold on the Internet and being imported into
countries all over the world. These Jammers are illegal to possess
and operate in most jurisdictions but thieves are spending between
$30 - $500 US, to ensure they can evade the activation and tracking
of quality recovery systems contained in the item they just stole.
These jammers are purchased by criminals to “jam” (interfere or
block) legitimate GPS position data, cellular connectivity and the
ability to activate tracking devices. Some jammers can only jam a
few yards while others can jam a city block radius.
Dyplex Communications Limited in conjunction with Seqtor
of Denmark developed the J-Alert series of jammer detectors. Al
Doubrough (co-developer of the J-Alert) describes the J-Alert as “a
sophisticated receiving device capable of detecting Jammers operating in the L1- GPS band, the VHF band for Lojack jammers as
well as the cellular bands”. There are two different units available to
address cellular bands in different areas of the world. “We are using
the criminals jamming signal to detect and track them.”
The J-Alert was designed to catch auto thefts but has also been
proven in the recovery of stolen cargo shipments, to provide early
warning of a potential threat, assist in detecting gang related activity
and drug trafficking.
For more information on the J-Alert Jammer Detector please visit
our web site www.dyplex.com
Or contact;
Al Doubrough
Dyplex Communications Ltd.
416 675-2002 (x 303)
[email protected]
Typical Radio Frequency Jammers
36
The APB
LATIN AMERICAN
BRANCH (LATAM) NEWS
President’s Message
By Daniel Oscar Beck, President
Greetings to the whole IAATI family.
can`t forget the first time Brian Salata
asked me to join theAssociation to outline
the new Branch in Latin America. The project was very important: to spread the precepts of a professional organization formed
by specialists, with the challenge of doing
so in a region where just few countries take
professional research as a continuous habit.
We went to Kansas and we got the Latin
America Branch designation, the first step
of our process.
Great commitment and dedication, time
to chart the course and to set goals for a
diverse team, with concepts from different
backgrounds, but aiming to contribute from
their areas of expertise with concrete proposals for combating crime.
I remember it was a busy year because we
had to solve the profile of our identity and
prepare the website. We held regular meetings to disseminate IAATI`s task, preparing
training seminars. All that required much
dedication and financial contributions. We
participated in the Conference at Rimini, the
second step, with concrete proposals to the
Board.
We presented a cooperation agreement
with the University of Morón, regarding
training in security issues, which provided
us with different hierarchy training. Our
number of members continued to grow
and we worked to maintain that number.
Meanwhile, the Board’s effort to supply a
translation system was important but, as it
wasn`t simultaneous, it limited our team’s
participation in the activities.
The year 2014 began with many projects and we managed to develop a totally
new website, available in English and
Portuguese, as a concrete step that helps
integration with the rest of the IAATI community. We participated in training activities
of Interpol in the region, and in the launch
of Operation Shield 2, in Bogota-Colombia.
We held training courses for local monitoring centers, with the participation of our
I
November 2014
management members, who contributed
with their expertise in the topics treated.
We signed an agreement with FADEEAC,
which is the federation that brings together
enterprises related to cargo in the Mercosur,
participating in training seminars to design
policies to prevent cargo theft. We signed
a cooperation agreement with Concordia,
a nonprofit entity that actively participates
in creating spaces for treatment, discussion
and dissemination of security problems,
vehicle and cargo theft.
We are working with our Vice President
Carlos Betancur (Brazil) in the realization
of a seminar to be held in Sao Paulo in the
last quarter of this year.
For the first quarter of 2015 we are working with our Vice President, Colonel (r)
Jorge Ramirez from Chile, to hold a seminar
in that country also.
We proposed to the Board the opportunity
to designate a new Branch: from Mexico
and Central America, led by OCRA, and
IAATI Executive Director John Abounader,
will be coordinating directly with them for
future development.
Our third step was the seminar at Fort
Worth, where I think there was a breakthrough for our task. We had discussions
with John Abounader in which we let him
know our concerns about the lack of results,
as we had been promised simultaneous
translation, and our feeling of lack of support and consideration with our initiatives
in the region, given the extensive territory,
and showing that we still had presence and
membership in 11 of the 13 countries of the
continent.
I firmly believe that IAATI should become, with the fundamental contribution
of world-wide communication systems, in
an association with a different dynamic,
it should begin to think like an enterprise,
forecasting the future, to monitor these projects and to support the different Branch and
Chapters according to the amount of activities they are developing.
We can`t simply make a main activity by
year and then expect the annual seminar as a
field of relationships ... and during the next
twelve months be offline, like satellites that
orbit the Board with dissociated activities.
The strength of IAATI is professionalism
and the knowledge and skills of those who
form it, but if we do not share them with a
participatory attitude, we will end up being
exhibitors and reporters of local problems
that don`t contribute much.
We have to stop displaying statistics and
modus operandi, that just slightly change
from country to country, and to begin to
outline projects that impact directly in the
creation of proposals to the system of justice, to modify and update laws that allow
us to fight the scourge of security in a more
comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative
way. We know the causes, we must attack
with solutions.
Perhaps the format of many parallel presentations at the annual seminar conspire
against the participation, perhaps the length
of days mixed with other activities serve
to disperse. Perhaps it is time to rethink
and take the opportunity to be together to
work actively in analyzing and defining a
document that brings together each one of
us contributions, to turn it into concrete
proposals of how to combat the scourge that
concerns us.
Finally I thank the Board for the places
Continued on page 39
Daniel Beck
37
LATIN AMERICAN
BRANCH (LATAM) NEWS
New Branch in the LATAM Chapter
Agreement with Concordia Foundation
T
On July 24th we signed
a cooperative agreement with Concordia
Foundation to assist each
other in the aim to develop projects of investigation, debate and diffusion of our ideas.
Concordia Foundation is a Civil Association. A place for the investigation and the meeting of experts in different disciplines, mostly social and related with security. Its objective is to create proposals
for public policies and the means to do this is knowing the real people`s problems.
Concordia and IAATI LATAM have already began to think
about our next steps together. The most important part of this bond
is the possibility of designing public policies tailored to the needs
of IAATI.
o continue with the development of our Chapter, we are going to
launch a new Branch for Central America and the Caribbean, and
in this way we`ll expand the scope in our large region and we`ll get
to decentralize our work.
Through the epitome of OCRA in Mexico, Mario Crosswell
Arenas as its President -who will appoint the other members of the
Board- we`ll give birth to this new challenge.
Mario Crosswell Arenas – General Director of OCRA México
Lo Jack Argentina reported 100,000
vehicles recovered in the last 15 years
Lo Jack in Argentina, a leading company in technology services, management and protection of assets, announced that the company was able to recover 100,000 vehicles since
the beginning of its activity.
“The efficacy of our vehicle recovery system is related to the fact
that we have our own network of radiofrequency, which currently
has more than 60 bases in different parts of Argentina,” Fernando
Palopoli, Chief LoJack Vehicle recovery, said.
The growth of the company in the country and in the region of Chile
and Uruguay, is based on the historical effectiveness of recovery and
the consolidation in the market, based on the reliability of this service.
“Through the years, Lo Jack has positioned itself as a leader in the
provision of such services in security, not only in the automotive segment but also in other areas such as corporate and home. This position
is strongly related to the acquaintance of our oriented research and
development vision, which has allowed us to advance new products
and services”, according to Cesar Montes de Oca, Director of operations and facilities.
Also, the company has highlighted the role of information as a
fundamental tool for the analysis and resolution of problematic crime.
Here, Daniel Beck, Law Enforcement Management and President of
the IAATI LatAm Branch emphasized that “we care about information in participating with the various provincial, national and international governments, such as the Ministry of Interior of Uruguay and
Carabineros of Chile, Interpol International among others, celebrating
assistance and reciprocity agreements.
About LoJack Southern Cone
Lo Jack Cono Sur has more than 655,000 customers in Argentina,
Chile and Uruguay, accounting for a staff of over 720 employees
and 41 offices and customer premises.
Operating in more than 30 countries, Lo Jack is a company of
American origin, based in Boston, listed on NASDAQ (LOJN) and
has a greater than 90% effectiveness in locating and recovery of different types of vehicles, having reached to date more than five billion
dollars in goods returned to their owners worldwide.
Lo Jack has close links and partnerships globally with various organizations, including insurance companies and car manufacturers.
38
To learn more about Concordia Foundation, visit
www.fundacion-concordia.org.
Totally new website:
iaatilatam.org
IAATI LATAM has a new,
more interactive and modern
website, for our members to
find it more entertaining to
be aware of the last information related to auto theft.
We hope you like it and
enjoy visiting the site. As
always, you may find the
option to translate all the
content into English and
Portuguese.
The APB
Presidents Message from page 39
assigned to Professor Agustin Patelli and
Attorney Ana Laura Brizuela.
Thanks to John for listening, putting up
with, and paying attention to my concerns.
Sometimes my passion to present them may
seem disrespectful, but I want to make clear
the respect I have for his professionalism
and dedication to pursue his efficient work
as Executive Director.
Thank you and see you soon.
__________________________________
Hola familia de IAATI !!
N
o puedo olvidar la primera vez que
Brian Salata me propuso sumarme a la
Asociaciòn para delinear el nuevo Branch
para Latinoamérica.
El proyecto era muy importante, difundir los
preceptos de una organización formada por especialistas profesionales, con el desafío de hacerlo
en una región donde salvo pocos países, toman la
investigación profesional como hábito continuo.
Llegó Kansas y la designación como
Branch para Latinoamérica, primer escalón de
nuestro proceso.
Gran compromiso y mucha dedicación, momento de delinear el rumbo, de marcar un norte
y proponer metas a un equipo heterogéneo, con
una apertura de conceptos devenidos de distintas
extracciones , pero teniendo como objetivo aportar desde sus áreas de incumbencia; propuestas
concretas para la lucha contra la delincuencia.
Recuerdo que fue un año intenso porque
había que resolver el perfil de nuestra identidad,
preparar la pagina web, reuniones continuas para
divulgar la tarea de IAATI, seminarios de capacitación y divulgación que requirieron de mucho
esfuerzo dedicación y aportes económicos.
Participamos de la Conferencia en Rimini,
segundo escalón, con propuestas concretas
al Bord.
Adjuntamos como respaldo un Convenio de
Cooperación con la Universidad de Morón, referente a la formación en seguridad, que nos aportó
jerarquía con sus diferentes cursos de capacitación. Crecimos en miembros y nos esforzamos
en mantenerlos asociados. Si bien el esfuerzo del
Board de dotarnos de un sistema de traducción
fue importante, al no ser simultáneo, limitó la
November 2014
participación del equipo a todas las actividades.
El año 2014 comenzó con muchos proyectos
y logramos concretar avances definitivos en la
conformación de nuestra página web, disponible
en inglés y portugués, paso concreto que ayuda
a la integración con el resto de la comunidad de
IAATI. Participamos activamente de las actividades de capacitación de Interpol en la región,
y del lanzamiento de la Operación Escudo 2 de
Bogotá-Colombia.
Se hicieron cursos de capacitación para los
centros de monitoreo municipales, con la participación de integrantes de nuestra dirección
que aportaron su experiencia en los distintos
temas tratados.
Firmamos un Convenio con FADEEAC que
es la federación que nuclea a los transportistas de
carga del Mercosur, participando de seminarios
de capacitación sobre la prevención del robo de
mercaderías en tránsito.
Firmamos un Convenio de Cooperación con la
Fundación Concordia, entidad sin fines de lucro
que participa activamente en crear espacios para
el tratamiento, discusión y divulgación de las
problemáticas en seguridad, robo de automotores
y mercadería en tránsito .
Estamos trabajando con nuestro
Vicepresidente Carlos Betancurt (Brasil) en la
concreción de un seminario a realizarse en San
Pablo en el último trimestre del año.
Para el primer trimestre del 2015 estamos
trabajando con nuestro Vicepresidente, el
Coronel(r) Ramirez de Chile , efectuar un seminario en ése país.
Propusimos al Board la posibilidad de designar a OCRA para que sea un capítulo de
nuestro Branch y centralizar desde Méjico la
divulgación de IAATI en la región, abarcando
Centro América. La misma fue aprobada y John
Abounader estará coordinando directamente con
ellos su desarrollo futuro.
Nuestro tercer escalón fue la Conferencia de
Texas, donde creo que hubo un breackpoint para
nuestra tarea, profundizamos una charla con John
Abounader donde le expusimos nuestra preocupación ante la falta de traducción simultánea
prometida, nuestro sentimiento de falta de apoyo
y consideración a la hora de acompañar todas
nuestras iniciativas de desarrollo en la región,
teniendo en cuenta lo extenso del territorio, y
mostrando que aún así teníamos presencia y
membresía en 11 de los 13 paises del continente.
Creo firmemente que IAATI debe pasar a ser
, con el aporte fundamental de los sistemas informáticos de comunicación, una asociación con
un dinamismo diferente, pensar como empresa,
proyectar a futuro, hacer un seguimiento de esos
proyectos, apoyar a los Branchs valorando la
cantidad de actividades que éstos efectúen.
No limitarnos a hacer una actividad principal
por año y luego esperar la conferencia General
como ámbito de relacionamiento…y durante
los próximos doce meses ser solo satélites sin
conexión que giran alrededor del Board con actividades disociadas.
La fortaleza de IAATI está en la profesionalización y los conocimientos y aptitudes de
quienes la conforman, pero si no los compartimos con actitud participativa, terminamos siendo
expositores y relatores de las problemáticas locales que poco aportan.
Tenemos que dejar de mostrar estadísticas y
modus operandi que poco difieren en cada país
y continentes, y pasar a delinear proyectos que
impacten directamente en la creación de propuestas a la justicia, para modificar y actualizar
leyes que nos permitan luchar con el flagelo de
la seguridad de forma mas abarcativa, cualitativa
y cuantitativamente. Ya conocemos las causas ,
ataquemos las soluciones.
Quizás el formato de tantas presentaciones
paralelas conspire con la participación, quizás
la duración de las jornadas mezclada con otras
actividades sirva para dispersar, quizás es el
momento de reformular como aprovechar la
oportunidad de estar todos juntos para trabajar
activamente en analizar y definir un documento
que aúne los aportes de todos, y se plasme en
propuestas concretas en como combatir el flagelo
que nos preocupa y reúne.
Por último agradezco al Board el lugar que
le asignaron al Profesor Agustín Patelli y a la
Doctora Ana Laura Brizuela en la dirección
del mismo.
Gracias a John por escucharme, “soportarme”,
y por atender mi inquietudes, a veces mi pasión
en presentar las mismas parecen irrespetuosas,
pero quiero que le quede claro el respeto
que tengo por tu profesionalidad y dedicación
para llevar adelante su eficiente tarea como
Director Ejecutivo .
Saludos y hasta la próxima. ■
39
WESTERN REGIONAL
CHAPTER NEWS
IAATI 63rd Annual Training Seminar
August 9-14, 2014 ~ Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, Arizona
By JD Hough, 3rd VP
I
would first like to thank the seminar
committee from Texas for the hospitality
they extended to all those who attended
the 62nd Annual Training Seminar this
past
p August in Fort Worth. I know what
a task it is to put on one of these seminars
and thank them for the personal time
it took from their lives to complete
the seminar.
The Western Regional Chapter of
IAATI has been selected to host the IAATI 63rd Annual Training
Seminar. It is an honor for Arizona to be chosen as the location of
this event.
Now it is time to start planning your trip and attendance for the
63rd Annual Training Seminar scheduled for August 9-14, 2015 at
the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona. The seminar committee
in Arizona has been working on this seminar for several months. We
have had our initial planning meetings with the staff at the Biltmore
Resort to insure that all the seminar venues are accomplished to the
high expectation of IAATI members. The Arizona seminar committee is working to provide the highest quality training available
with up to date trends being addressed. As you know we have an
extensive array of audience to address and are seeking to meet the
needs of the membership. We are reaching out and inviting vendors
with the latest state of the art technology to be present to address
the needs of the IAATI members. As an International organization
we hope to have something for everyone and make this seminar one
that you will walk away from with a new attitude and philosophies
to combat auto theft.
40
As previously mentioned, the main goal of the seminar is to provide excellent, up to date training for all IAATI members. We are
also going to provide the opportunity for you to meet and greet with
IAATI members from around the world. The Biltmore has worked
with us to have two hospitality rooms where you can exchange business cards and make those necessary contacts in other jurisdictions
that we all so badly need. We plan to provide the opportunity for all
to interact and share while relaxing in a stress free environment.
The seminar committee has received commitments from numerous vendors that will be there to demonstrate the latest technology
and answer your questions. This will be an excellent time for you to
acquire the information on the best resources available to assist you
and your agency. The vendor room will be large and meet the needs
of the companies who support IAATI.
Continued on next page
The APB
Hotel Room Rates:
$99.00 per night plus tax (USD)
08-07-2015 thru 08-15-2015
Hotel Reservations online:
https://resweb.passkey.com/go/IAATI
Golf:
Seminar Attendees use code IAATI 2015 and get
10% discount, for reservations call 602.955.9655 Email:
[email protected]
Transportation:
To and from Airport - Super Shuttle
Book online at www.supershuttle.com use discount code: ZYS4A.
Discounted fare $13.00 each way
Questions:
Richard Spallinger - [email protected] - 520-940-8831
J.D. Hough - [email protected] - 602-725-7625.
Conference Forms and Online Conference Registration available at
http://www.iaati.org/
November 2014
The Arizona Biltmore was one of
Phoenix’s first resorts, built in 1929 and
is known as “The Jewel of the Desert”.
They are in the final stages of completing a
multi-million dollar renovation. The staff at
the Arizona Biltmore has been very receptive and is looking forward to hosting the
IAATI 63rd Annual Training Seminar. The
room rates have been negotiated at a very
reasonable rate for this five star resort. On
top of the outstanding room rate, every room
registration will receive a $20.00 credit to
be used on the property at any of the shopping or dining establishments. The Arizona
Biltmore is eleven miles from Phoenix
Sky Harbor Airport, with a drive time of
approximately 15 to 20 minutes, depending
on traffic. A special rate of $13.00 has been
negotiated with Super Shuttle for your transportation to and from the airport and hotel. I
have listed all the rates below and they can
also be found on the IAATI website for the
63rd Annual Training Seminar.
There is a golf course on property for
your enjoyment after class. Or come a few
days early to take advantage of the summer
rates on several of our top notch golf courses in the Phoenix area. Yes it will be hot,
but remember that it is a “Dry Heat”. There
are several pools on the property that can
assist you in cooling off after a hot day.
If you feel the need to get away from the
restful atmosphere at the resort, there is
shopping and fine dining approximately one
half mile from the resort. There will be an
hourly shuttle from the hotel to the shopping
district for your convenience.
Please visit the Arizona Biltmore at
http://www.arizonabiltmore.com to check
out all the great amenities and wonderful
atmosphere they have to offer. This will be
a once in a lifetime opportunity to stay at a
five star resort for such a low cost.
In closing, I would like to thank the
Western Regional Chapter of IAATI
for their support and commitment to
the Arizona Auto Theft Investigators
Association (AATIA) in hosting the IAATI
63rd Annual Training Seminar. We look
forward to seeing all of you in August, 2015.
41
WESTERN REGIONAL
CHAPTER NEWS
Calgary man charged in ϐlood-related VIN cloning case
By Kurt Ernst
I
n June 2013, Calgary, Alberta, and surrounding towns bore witness to flooding
of historical proportions, which forced
mandatory and long-term evacuations for
many residents and destroyed billions of
dollars in property. A year later, the Calgary
Police Service Auto Theft Unit announced
charges against a Vancouver man accused
of VIN cloning a distinctive 1962 Chevrolet
Impala convertible damaged by the High
River flood and later sold for spare parts by
a salvage company.
Spotted by off-duty Calgary Police
Service constable Wayne Suffesick as it
prepared to cross the stage at a local auction, the 1962 Impala was hardly a car that
would go unnoticed. Though its rear fender
skirts and whitewall tires are common, its
pronounced deck-style rear bumper and
vertical Continental kit were unique enough
to catch Suffesick’s attention, particularly
because he’d spent time working as an auto
body man before joining the police department and knew the Impala’s former owner
personally. He also knew that the insurance
company had written the car off as non-repairable, and that it had been sold as a parts
car to a salvage company following the insurance payout.
A subsequent check of the vehicle’s documentation revealed a forged safety inspection certificate from another Canadian province, and Suffesick was quick to notice the
drill scratches on the car’s door jamb VIN
tag, a sign that the original rivets had been
drilled out. The VIN tag, it turns out, had
been obtained from a donor 1962 Chevrolet
Impala found at a Northern Alberta scrap
yard. Based upon Suffesick’s investigation,
Calgary police have charged 63-year old
Youssef Yangui with forging documents,
tampering with a vehicle identification
number and fraudulent concealment in relation to the car’s “cloned” VIN.
According to Calgary Police Service
detective sergeant Mike Saunders (a classic
42
The 1962 Chevrolet Impala, following its
recovery from the June 2013 High River flood. (Phots courtesy of the Calgary
Police Service)
At the salvage yard, shortly after the flood.
The car’s interior, immediately following
its recovery from the High River flood.
Note the silt on the floor mats
The Impala in the auction tent, awaiting
its trip across the block; note the changed
wheel covers.
The Impala’s stretched rear bumper was its
most distinctive trait.
car enthusiast himself, in the midst of a
restoration on his 1949 Chevrolet pickup),
the 1962 Impala convertible had sat in a
flooded garage for nearly three weeks, the
mandatory evacuation period for area residents. Labeled as non-repairable due to the
At the auction; the car’s most distinctive
feature was impossible to hide.
extent of flood damage, the Impala was sold
for spare parts use to a salvage company,
from which Yangui allegedly acquired the
vehicle. Per Saunders, the salvage company
The APB
Scrap Cars from page 13
itself is blameless in the incident, as its bill
of sale clearly indicated the Impala could
not be certified for road use. The VIN cloning incident in Calgary is the first of its kind
relating to the June 2013 floods, though
with an estimated 10,000 vehicles damaged
by the High River flood, it likely won’t be
the last.
Saunders reminds anyone shopping for a
classic car (particularly from an unknown
seller) to check for obvious signs of flood
damage, such as musty odors, moldy carpet,
rust in unusual places and organic debris
in wiring looms or in heater vents. Those
seeking to acquire a collector car should
also verify that the windshield VIN plate
(when present) matches the paperwork and
other VIN plates or stamped numbers, and
that none show signs of being tampered
with. When possible, the VIN plate should
be compared to that of a similar year, make,
and model to verify similarities and note
differences. Saunders also recommended
the use of third-party vehicle history reporting services, such as Carfax or Carproof,
with cars built after the early 1980s.
In the end, it comes down to “buyer
beware,” particularly for buyers in the
United States. Though this incident may be
the first of its kind relating to the Calgary
floods, Hurricanes Katrina, Irene and Sandy,
coupled with rising collector car prices,
have made VIN cloning and the sale of
flood-damaged cars a not-uncommon occurrence elsewhere ■.
Kurt Ernst is an associate editor at
Hemmings Motor News in Bennington,
Vermont. A lifelong car and motorcycle
enthusiast and former new car reviewer,
Ernst never tires of telling others that he
plays with cars for a living. Special thanks
to Detective Mike Saunders of the Calgary
(Alberta, Canada) Police Service, Auto
Theft Unit, for sending this in.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in
Hemmings Daily, a publication of Hemmings Motor News. It is printed with their
permission.
November 2014
of scrap metal at these prices. Perhaps I
am in the wrong field, because there are
weeks a year where that is my net daily take
home pay after taxes. Today’s metal prices
are low compared to recent years where
$250/metric ton was not uncommon. The
same vehicle at those prices is over $435.
The money is there for the making as this
shows, and the scrapping of cars legitimately is everyday business for many whereby it
is not remotely suspicious for frequent sellers to bring full vehicles into the recycler.
Compounding the problem is legislation
and the associated workarounds that exist, weak penalties for violations and the
unlikelihood of offenders being justly punished are all in the bandit’s favor, I would
humbly submit as my opinion. In Ontario
metal recycling facilities are required by the
Highway Traffic Act that they must record
the VIN among other data of vehicles that
is reaching the end of life at their facility.
In North Carolina General Statute 20-62.1
is specific and appears to provide great
assistance in reducing the numbers and
frequency of crime vehicles being scrapped
for recycling, by requiring strict recording
and reporting of vehicles that are scrapped
for recycling, and detailed records of the
seller of the vehicle/scrap. The unfortunate
gap in this legislation is that the exception
for recording and reporting allows vehicles
that are crushed, prior to arrival at the salvager, to not be documented or reported in
the same manner. Other states and provinces have such laws. While these laws exist,
there is the criminal element that profits by
circumventing the rules and adapting their
schemes in order to continue to operate.
If a car thief or network of thieves were
to stockpile a cache of vehicles and had
a mobile crusher attend their stash, then
the entire vehicle could be compacted and
placed into an open top steel container and
then transported to a metal recycling facility
and sold without any documentation other
than weight of the load. It is not unheard
of to have 20 vehicles in a container. The
simplest of math dictates that this could
easily amount to $5000 per load. As simple
a workaround that is to the laws, it is very
profitable and if it is criminal in nature it
is nearly undetectable. The absence of evidence just binds the hands of those that are
expected to conduct the enforcement and
reduce the crime of auto theft.
Despite the existence of legislation that
assists law enforcement (in theory) to curb
the wrecking of vehicles for criminal purpose I would suggest to the reader that there
is very little pro-active enforcement being
undertaken by police. To use Ottawa as the
example; the Ottawa Police Service has not
attended any of the metal recycling facilities in the past 6 years for the sole purpose
of examining ALL the vehicles that are
present. The attached photo perhaps best
explains the daunting task of examining
all the vehicles at this facility. Simplifying
the check of records to simply examining
the log book is to blindly accept that this
profit driven business is accurately recording every vehicle that enters the yard. This
type of enforcement by design overlooks
all the vehicles that are present in the yard
that arrived in an already crushed state. The
problem only gets worse when investigative
and enforcement units are being reduced,
funding for training and budget cuts are met
with increased pressure for clearance rate
statistics etc.
Think also of evidence eradication, the
crime scene of a vehicle is soon and readily
disposed of by shredding and incinerating.
They never did find Jimmy Hoffa – is it
outrageous to consider such crimes have
been cleaned up by shredding a vehicle? I
would propose, not outrageous and maybe
I’d go so far to say it is very likely.
A Justice of the Peace told me the other
day, as she read my Information to Obtain a
Search Warrant, that in 33 years combined
as a lawyer and now a Justice of the Peace
she had, on only one other occasion, wanted
to tell the officer to quit the pursuit. She
expanded on this by saying there is no way
to get them all and the effect police have on
this type of crime is negligible. She assured
me she did not want me to give up the
fight, but to just settle in that we will never
catch up.
It behooves us to continue the pursuit
of reducing vehicle thefts despite the challenge that scrapping stolen cars presents us,
given the ease with which a car thief can
get rid of a vehicle. ■
Detective Trevor Archibald has been with
the Ottawa Police Service for 14 years, the
last 6 of which have been with the Criminal Investigation Services specializing in
Organized Auto Theft. He is a member of
the Northeast Chapter of IAATI where he
serves as a Director. Detective Archibald
has undertaken the familiarization and
training of new recruits in the basics
of auto theft from a front line patrol
perspective.
43
FEATURE ARTICLE
Hell’s Angels Minnesota Chapter President
Tells All Against His Fellow Gang Members
By IAATI Past President Denny Roske
H
ennepin Co. Sheriff’s Investigator,
Chris Omodt, received IAATI’s
North Central Regional Chapter’s Bob
Sattler award in 1999 in recognition
for the investigation which began with
stolen Harley Davidson motorcycles in
1997. The story had just begun. The
case continued for another 7 years.
A multi agency task force was
set up to deal with the thefts,
including the Hennepin Co.
Sheriff’s Dept., FBI, Minnesota
State Patrol, Minnesota Bureau
of Criminal Apprehension, IRS,
and the DEA.
Many IAATI members
were directly involved: NICB
Supervisory Special Agent
Bob Henderson, NICB Senior
Special Agent Barb Rambo,
Pete Simet of Harley Davidson
and Bob Kinney of the
Connecticut State Police.
The execution of numerous
search warrants relating to the
Harley Davidson thefts in the
Minneapolis St. Paul metropolitan area started on Feb. 11,
1998. With 10 being executed
on the first day, over $750,000
worth of motorcycles, parts,
and accessories were recovered. Over the next few years,
search warrants recovered VINswitched cars, pickup trucks
and more motorcycles.
During the continuing investigation, illegal drugs were
being found. 2 kilos of cocaine were linked to the Hell’s
Angels chapter president. With
charges pending on a num-
44
ber of suspects, people started talking
to the investigators. By 2004, 6 Hell’s
Angels of the Minnesota chapter were
arrested along with 31 others.
The former president of the
Minnesota Chapter of the Hell’s Angels,
Pat Matter, agreed to cooperate with
law enforcement authorities in ex-
change for a 7 ½ year reduction to his
17 ½ year prison sentence. Matter’s
agreement to assist law enforcement
found him testifying against other
members of the Hell’s Angels as well as
others in criminal court cases involving
drugs in a number of states.
Detective Omodt seized his last stolen Harley-Davidson from
a New Jersey Hell’s Angel
who was attending the Hell’s
Angels USA Run in Carlton
County Minnesota in 2009.
NICB Senior Special Agent
Bob Henderson, who
worked on the case with
Omodt for all those years
was there to help identify
that last recovery.
Now, Matter and
Detective Omodt who began the investigation, collaborated on a book “Breaking
The Code: A True Story by a
Hell’s Angels president and
the Cop Who Pursued Him.”
The book can be found at
the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/
dp/1939288681 or www.
barnsandnoble.com
Omodt retired at the rank
of captain in 2012. Besides
writing the book, he and
Matter provide presentations
to law enforcement, criminal
justice colleges and other
organizations about the
inner workings of the Hell’s
Angels and the crimes that
they commit.
The APB
EUROPEAN BRANCH NEWS
President’s Message
By European Branch President, Renato Schipani
M
y first year as President of the European Branch has been completed. It has been an intense one and unfortunately characterized by
sad events. Last May we lost Barry Hancock, our “Forever President”. Last
September, Henny Mulder, another long time European Branch member
passed away. He was recognized by an award from our branch in 2006
during our annual seminar in 2006.
I would also like to give my personal and European Branch tribute to
Rochester (New York) Police Officer Daryl R. Pierson, member of IAATI NE
Chapter, who was shot dead in the line of duty on 4th of September. As
a police officer I always feel particularly touched by these events. It is like
losing one of our family, sharing the same values, working for the same
objective, making our community, our world, a safer one.
I am particularly honoured to be President of IAATI EB while our Branch
celebrates its 25th birthday and I am feeling particularly privileged and lucky
to work together on daily basis with the fantastic team which constitutes
today the European Branch board. There is a specific example which tells a lot
about the quality of our board. At the 1st Global Conference on Vehicle Crime
organized at INTERPOL Headquarters in Lyon (France) last year practically
the whole board was there and only 2 of them as official representatives of
IAATI EB. The rest of them were officially representing their different agencies,
whether private or public. High level professionals indeed!
And among them, I would like to say a special word for Werner Postma,
former Executive Director of our Branch. By the time you will read this,
Werner will have already resigned from the board as he will also be leaving
his work at the Dutch Foundation for tackling vehicle crime. Another pillar
leaving our board. Actually, Werner’s leaving represents a loss not only for
IAATI EB but for the whole community dealing with this peculiar criminal
area. I remember him participating to so many events around the world.
He was definitely recognized as one of the top players and it was a privilege
that we could count on him in our EB Team. His commitment and quality
work for IAATI EB was such that his leaving creates a gap that will not be
easy to fill. On behalf of the whole board and EB Members, THANK YOU very
much Werner for all you did for the vehicle crime investigation community
during all these years.
In the European Branch, I can certify that we are growing in quality and
quantity, meaning that our activities are increasing incredibly without taxing the good health of our accounts. This was possible thanks to the team
spirit that characterizes our activities and to the wise management by our
financial team.
Our website best summarizes our enhancements: it is widely used by
our members. Every day we can count tens of new posts and new tools
have been implemented. I refer to the translator and VIN decoder device.
Nevertheless, we are working on improving our website even more because
we believe this is our core business, putting our members together every
day, not just during our annual seminar. I am really proud of IAATI’s EB
website. It is modern, user friendly and succeeds at informing and updating
November 2014
our vehicle crime community on the last
trends and events and, most of all, creating
a strong daily working network among EB
members.
Another activity which has strongly developed during last years is training. Up to 3
years ago, our only training was the annual
one. This was actually a contradiction of what
IAATI should aim for. Capacity building was
Branch President,
little pursued. Now I can proudly state that
Renato Schipani
we are able to perform a couple of trainings
per year in countries where we believe that
there is strong need for the European interests.
IAATI trainings took place in North Africa (Morocco) and East Europe
(Estonia, Lithuania and Belarus). With reference to the one in Belarus, we are
particularly happy as there are not so many chances to carry our training in
this country, mostly because of the strategic importance of training Belarus
law enforcement agencies in identifying and investigating stolen vehicles. I
would like to praise our Training Committee for their achievements.
I would finally like to stress on something which I believe is particularly
important. They say vehicle crime is decreasing and does not represent a
particular threat to our community. There are criminal areas which are much
more dangerous and pressing such as terrorism, drug trafficking, etc.
I give you some examples showing clearly that this assumption is wrong.
I was recently in Mexico attending a conference on organized crime. I was
particularly attracted by a slide showing a direct link between the number
of cars seized in USA coming from Mexico and the numbers of seizures of
drugs proceeding from the same country and hidden in the stolen cars. The
stolen cars are now less in numbers and so is the drug quantity seized.
Speaking of terrorism, here the direct link is even clearer and unfortunately tragic. Stolen cars are being used more and more for targeting
specific high level personalities or buildings. I just would like to recall that a
couple of stolen cars were involved during the attack by Al Qaeda in Madrid
and that another one was directly used to kill the Head of Security Services
of Lebanon in 2012.
I could add that billions of Euro are declared as losses by the insurance
industry all over the world. Has anyone ever asked where this huge amount
of money is going? Should we be happy just thinking that we recover stolen
cars or maybe we should try going a little deeper in the issue and try for
instance depriving criminal gangs of their immense ill-gotten gains? And
after the real cases I mentioned, are we still sure that vehicle crime does not
represent a serious threat?
I think that IAATI is a unique Association in assisting law enforcement
agencies and judicial authorities for raising the right awareness about vehicle crime and the danger it brings along. This is one of our main objectives
and I can assure that as European Branch we will do all is in our capabilities
to make everyone be conscious that vehicle crime is not just a “minor offense” but that there are hundreds and hundreds of people killed by using
a stolen car and this is not “Joyride”.
Best Regards. ■
45
FEATURE ARTICLE
FLORIDA SEEKS TO RECREATE EXPANDED ATPA
By Neil C. Chamelin
Retired Assistant State Attorney, Tallahassee, Florida and Chair of the Legislative Committee, Florida Auto Theft Intelligence Unit (FATIU)
I
n 1992, the Florida Legislature created the Motor Vehicle
Theft Prevention Authority (MVTPA). The authority
was funded by a $.50 semi-annual assessment on
motor vehicles registrations. A great deal of money
was collected, and was put in a trust fund. From
that trust fund the annual allocation for the MVTPA
was only about 16 percent of the money collected.
The Florida Legislature had some other priorities
for the rest of the trust fund and by law they are
permitted to take money from trust funds to support
general revenue programs.
Despite the limitation of funds, The authority, consisting
of chiefs of police, sheriffs, and other stakeholders, amply funded
departmental as well as multi-agency task forces, educational programs, prevention activities, and a separate law enforcement advisory committee that conducted statewide auto theft summit conferences, with nationally known auto theft prevention and investigation
personalities as speakers, along with locally led breakout groups.
The authority funded many other programs during its existence.
The staff for the authority were employees of the Department of
Legal Affairs, the agency run by the state Attorney General. For
the ten year duration of the MVTPA, the staff did an excellent job.
However, in 2002, the legislature decided to use all the monies
collected for general revenue programs. As a result, the MVTPA
was defunded. In 2011, in a cleanup bill, the legislature repealed the
MVTPA language from the statutes. This brings us to the present.
Even before the repeal of the language, the Florida Auto Theft
Intelligence Unit (FATIU), was working with members of the legislature to try to get the program reinstated. A bill was introduced in
the state House of Representatives, that assessed $.50 semi-annually
on motor vehicle insurance policies but no groundwork was done
46
and the bill went nowhere. I don’t recall that the bill was
even heard in a committee or subcommittee. Since that
time, FATIU has been working on a comprehensive
package of its own that will satisfy investigators
and should be acceptable to administrators and all
stakeholders. The current version is the product of
more than two years of give and take by members
of FATIU. The groundwork still has not been laid
but we have a comprehensive package so that we
can now begin our efforts to sell it to stakeholders.
As we discussed ideas and got input from members,
the concept kept expanding. We decided at the outset that
any program established needed to include cargo theft, in addition
to motor vehicle theft. Then we learned that in 2012, Florida had the
unfortunate distinction of having 24 percent of the national total of
watercraft theft. It goes without saying that we have a lot of water
on three sides of our state. Many of the members of FATIU represent agencies that have marine investigation units.
The result of joint efforts, our comprehensive package is now
called the Motor Vehicle, Cargo, and Watercraft Theft Prevention
Authority (MVCWTPA). However, it is still a work in progress. We
attended the ATPA meeting at the IAATI conference in FT. Worth,
Texas, where several members read the Florida proposal and made
suggestions for improvement. They were good suggestions. As a
result, FATIU will be doing additional work on the document before
it will be ready for contacting the agencies and organizations whose
support and funding will be essential to getting the legislation
passed.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to IAATI ATPA Committee Chair
Reg Phillips for sending this in.
The APB
SOUTH CENTRAL
UNITED KINGDOM
BRANCHREGIONAL
NEWS CHAPTER NEWS
SO WHAT’S BEHIND THIS
WORRYING TREND?
CASE STUDY :
METROPOLITAN POLICE
THEFT WITHOUT KEYS
Thatcham’s work with police forces from
across the UK reveals an increasingly concerning picture with a growth in the number
of vehicles being stolen without keys.
The total number of vehicles stolen in London between
October 2012 and September 2013 was 23,379.
Of these, 47% were stolen without the key.
The situation in the Metropolitan Police area
is indicative of reports from police forces
across the country with 47% of all cars being stolen in the London Borough being taken without the key (Figure 1). This is largely
attributable to electronic compromise where
vehicles are targeted through the On Board
Diagnostics (OBD) port.
Continued on next page
VEHICLE THEFT IS ON THE
INCREASE
Figures from the ABI show that between
2003 and 2013, the total cost of theft claims
settled has decreased by 80% from approx.
£525m to £275m per annum. However,
looking at the last 2 years the figures are less
impressive showing that in the year ending
2013 the total cost of claims has increased
by 2%.
Figure 1
Latest reports are also showing a change
in the types of vehicle being stolen, with
high value vehicles no longer the only
target for thieves. There continues to be a
vast market for illegal parts and there is
no shortage of demand for these parts on
an increasing range of makes and models,
driven primarily by the cost of repair.
Whilst BMW and Ford were originally
seen as the main targets, figures from the
Metropolitan police show that this is no
longer the case and this is a picture which
is repeated in many other force areas
across the UK.
New targets in London specifically
now include:
• Audi A4 & A6
• VW Golf
• Fiat 500
• Range Rover Evoque & Sport
• Mercedes Sprinter
Source: ABI
November 2014
47
UNITED KINGDOM
BRANCH NEWS
MODUS OPERANDI
Figure 2
Figure 3
The vast majority of the current spate of
keyless thefts can be attributed to electronic
compromise, with sophisticated and organised criminal gangs using equipment that is
widely available for purchase on websites
around the world.
As we reported in our previous Security
Bulletin (Oct 2013), we have now revised
our NVSA security assessment criteria to
take account of this method.
Under EU legislation, third party non franchised garages must be able to work on
all vehicles and may legitimately require
information from the vehicle’s On-board
Diagnostic Port (OBD). This has increased
the availability of legitimate tools to carry
out this work.
Targeted vehicles are rarely recovered depending on make and model; if they are
recovered it is normally as component parts
often found wrapped and ready for onward
sale (Figure 4).
RECOVERY
Figure 4
Some of the OBD equipment generally
used for programming or interacting with
a vehicle’s security systems by criminal
gangs are pictured alongside. Over the last
3 years we’ve seen prices dropping for
this previously expensive equipment from
originally £16,000 (Figure 2) to as little as
£10.76 (Figure 3). This equipment is readily
available on the internet and we have been
unable to establish any legitimate usage for
these devices i.e they are designed purely
for this type of vehicle theft.
STORY CONTINUES
48
The APB
SIMPLIFY continued from page 15
Okay, now it is time to talk about my
favorite operators Allintext: Allintitle: and
Allinurl:
Each reply in a search result is defined
by a Title, a URL (or web address), then the
Text of the reply, and lastly some Anchor
words that are there to help that web page
get to the top of the search results faster.
Because these are broken down by type, it
also means that we can search each one of
them separately, by type. Knowing this, and
knowing how web pages and search results
are set up, can make your searching that
much easier!
Searching [allintitle:] tells the search engine that you just want to search the title of
the reply for your key words and nowhere
else. This is great way to narrow your results
from the start, so you don’t get 12 million
replies out of the gate. Now, searching
[allintext:] limits the searches to just the text
of the website, but because this is exponentially greater in size than the title, your results are much greater as well. This is when
you might want to use several search terms
like [allintext:”joe stephenson” baseball boston red sox] so that the more accurate ones
come up first in your results.
Then there is [allinurl:] which can have
great results but you have to be very specific
in what you are searching for. Remember,
using this term is telling your search engine
to search only the web address area for your
terms, so you aren’t capturing all the websites but just the ones with the terms in the
URL. Now, sometimes this has a great advantage, if you know how web addresses are
created. For instance, have you ever noticed
most used car dealers will use a description
of a vehicle, the full or partial VIN, or a
stock number or other ID number to identify a particular vehicle that’s listed on their
website? If you know these patterns, you
can use this to quickly reduce your searches
by searching for just that term. For example,
a 1969 Camaro VIN starts with 124379N
so if I search [allinurl:124379N] I will only
get back results that have that alphanumeric
term in the address bar, such as http://camaroforums.com/forum/tags/124379n/.
These are just some of the operators that
you can use to reduce your time searching
the Internet and I encourage you to expand
your knowledge even more. Read ‘The
Google Guide’ online that discusses all the
various ways to manipulate your Google
search or just search for Boolean Operators
and read what comes up. If you don’t have
the time, or don’t want to refer to this article
every time you search, then get in the habit
of using the advanced search screen for your
particular search engine, as almost all of
them have one. Google’s can be found here:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search.
As always I hope you found this article
informative and I hope you can incorporate
some of these ideas into your work. If you
have any questions or suggestions for future
articles, please feel free to connect with me
on LinkedIn and send me a message. ■
Joe Stephenson
is the Managing
Director of SIU at
Hagerty Insurance,
specializing in
classic and collector
car & boat claims
investigations. He is an accredited accident
reconstructionist and certified insurance
fraud investigator and an elected Director
with the New England Chapter of IAATI.
Prior to joining the private sector 8 years
ago, Joe was a patrol sergeant with a
municipal police department in Maine and
had 17 years of experience as a LEO. Joe
lectures to various groups regarding the
abundance of free information available on
the Internet and the benefits of turning first
to the Interest as a main source of research.
If you would like to reach Joe, you are
invited to connect with him via LinkedIn.
INDUSTRY RESPONSE
Thatcham are continuing to work with police forces nationwide
in ascertaining the extent of the problem as well as with vehicle
manufacturers in finding ways to combat the threat.
A more detailed analysis of theft trends, when aligned with various
Thatcham led security initiatives, demonstrates the benefits of a
co-ordinated industry approach to vehicle theft trends and we are
therefore currently asking our member insurers to assist with the
compilation of theft statistics to build a more complete picture, using
both insurance and police data.
Thatcham are happy to work with our members on specific cases
where vehicle security expertise would be beneficial. Please let us
know where you have potentially fraudulent cases, where the vehicle
is recovered, which may require further investigation into ascertaining
the theft method.
Figure 5
November 2014
Please contact the Thatcham Vehicle Security team by email on
[email protected] ■
49
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