Whether it’s cheese or worms or a fully loaded new model car, once the trap is baited, you only have to wait patiently before a big one has been snagged. With that in mind, police in jurisdictions throughout the country are putting out bait cars to catch car thieves. And the ruse is working. Statistics have proven that the incidents of car thefts in areas where law enforcement personnel are using bait cars have been decreasing steadily.

When police receive numerous reports of stolen cars within a specific area, they move in with the heavy guns: The Bait Car. The bait car looks like any other car in the neighborhood, fully loaded with all kinds of upgrades and improvements, and maybe a laptop or cell phone in plain view, just for effect. But it’s got way more “goodies” than a car thief expects it to have: It’s got a GPS and a remote fuel cut off, too. Oh, and a hidden video camera - SMILE!

Often, the car is observed electronically; as soon as the door is opened, an alert is sent to the police. Usually, they’ll let the car go on its merry way, in the hope of catching up to it in a place where it shouldn’t be - i.e. a chop shop or a reseller. Of course, if the car thief is snagged in a fast food parking lot, that’s alright, too. Everyone likes dinner theater!