2008 Woodie Awards
LOCAL NEWS FOR THE STATE OF R.I.
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: News
Recently, Providence Police conducted a sting operation to help cut down on this growing crime.
According to The Providence Journal, police planted a car with a GPS device and made sure that the passenger side window was slightly lowered.
This provided prospective thieves with an easy target while plain clothed officers looked on from a distance. Soon after the trap was set, two men and a woman walked down the street. The crew is said to have looked up and down the street for onlookers before one man forced the window down.
The other man was then able to open the lock and take the GPS device. After the thief tucked the equipment into his coat, the trio were about to flee the scene before they were swarmed by surrounding officers.
According to The Providence Journal, this all occurred at around 2:45 p.m. on Thursday March 6 at Potters and Calhoun avenues in the West End in Providence.
"It's a problem all over the state, not just the city," said police major Paul C. Fitzgerald to The Providence Journal.
GPS targeted for their resale value and while they cannot be sold on the black market for their original $300 to $500 price tags, they can still fetch $50 to $100.
Lieutenant Mary Day urged drivers without built in GPS devices to either keep them on their person upon leaving their car or hide it. Otherwise, the devices are akin to a purse sitting alone in clear view.
Day said to The Providence Journal that 6 out of the 9 larcenies that occurred in her district the previous week were GPS related. Even the suction marks left behind by the device are reason enough for some thieves to smash in car windows.
"They're realizing its an easy target," Day said to The Providence Journal.
-Conor Ferguson '10
Rhode Island Water Supply Reaches Record Lows
PC students from some parts of Rhode Island may soon have to stock up on bottled water. Drinking water levels in the ground are at record lows for the state of Rhode Island, according to the National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.
According to The Providence Journal, police planted a car with a GPS device and made sure that the passenger side window was slightly lowered.
This provided prospective thieves with an easy target while plain clothed officers looked on from a distance. Soon after the trap was set, two men and a woman walked down the street. The crew is said to have looked up and down the street for onlookers before one man forced the window down.
The other man was then able to open the lock and take the GPS device. After the thief tucked the equipment into his coat, the trio were about to flee the scene before they were swarmed by surrounding officers.
According to The Providence Journal, this all occurred at around 2:45 p.m. on Thursday March 6 at Potters and Calhoun avenues in the West End in Providence.
"It's a problem all over the state, not just the city," said police major Paul C. Fitzgerald to The Providence Journal.
GPS targeted for their resale value and while they cannot be sold on the black market for their original $300 to $500 price tags, they can still fetch $50 to $100.
Lieutenant Mary Day urged drivers without built in GPS devices to either keep them on their person upon leaving their car or hide it. Otherwise, the devices are akin to a purse sitting alone in clear view.
Day said to The Providence Journal that 6 out of the 9 larcenies that occurred in her district the previous week were GPS related. Even the suction marks left behind by the device are reason enough for some thieves to smash in car windows.
"They're realizing its an easy target," Day said to The Providence Journal.
-Conor Ferguson '10
Rhode Island Water Supply Reaches Record Lows
PC students from some parts of Rhode Island may soon have to stock up on bottled water. Drinking water levels in the ground are at record lows for the state of Rhode Island, according to the National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.
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