ASU, Police use bait cars to hook auto thieves

Parking and Transit Services aims to reduce thefts, burglaries

 by Andre Radzischewski
 published on Thursday, March 20, 2008

Would-be thieves might think twice about stealing a car from University parking facilities, as a new police partnership makes it more likely they'll find themselves in jail than in a new ride.

ASU Parking and Transit Services and Tempe Police have teamed up to place bait cars in lots and garages as part of a new safety campaign, PTS spokeswoman Shereen Saurey said.

Over spring break, PTS began using signs outside parking structures to educate car owners about theft and to warn potential thieves of the increased risk they're taking.

"Steal bait car, go to jail," one board read.

Signs like this will rotate between parking structures but don't necessarily mean that a bait car has actually been placed in that particular place, Saurey said.

"It's used as a deterrent," she said. "You don't really ever know."

Bait cars — or the threat thereof — have proven effective in reducing the number of car thefts citywide, Tempe Police spokesman Steven Carbajal said.

"We want people to think, 'If I steal this car, is it a bait car?' " he said.

Tempe Police have different types of cars and trucks they use as bait, Carbajal said. If somebody breaks into the car, it automatically informs the department's dispatch center, he added.

"We have the ability to control the car," Carbajal said.

Depending on the situation, police could shut off the engine, lock the doors to trap a thief inside the car or choose from a number of other options to make sure the suspect is caught without impeding traffic safety, he added.

Business freshman Brian Michalowski said he had never heard of the concept of a bait car, but said it sounded like an economical way to prevent car theft.

"Why not cut down on crime?" Michalowski said.

His girlfriend, Corine Hernandez, who was visiting from San Francisco, said she was more worried about theft than vandalism when she parked her dad's Mercedes at the Rural Road parking structure.

"It's kind of sketchy," Hernandez said, adding she wouldn't park there during the night.

The bait cars are only one ingredient of a larger PTS campaign; the core of which is to educate drivers about how to prevent theft, Saurey said.

"It's common knowledge [that Arizona's] auto theft rate is quite high," she said.

During the campaign, PTS is using e-mails, signs and campus events to remind drivers to lock their cars, keep valuables out of sight and install deterrence devices such as car alarms, Saurey added.

"We want to keep the ASU community alert and aware," Saurey said. "We are very cognizant of our permit holders' need to feel safe."

Reach the reporter at: andre.f.radzischewski@asu.edu.