LoJack® System Helps the Philadelphia Police Department Recover a Stolen Honda Odyssey
- November 17, 2015
- recovery stories
The owners of a 2000 Honda Odyssey contacted the Philadelphia Police Department to report that their vehicle was stolen from the area of their residence in the eastern section of Philadelphia. Philadelphia Police radio dispatched a uniformed officer to investigate the incident. The officer quickly arrived on location, interviewed the vehicle owner and then surveyed the area for the vehicle. When the vehicle could not be located, the officer prepared a stolen vehicle report and arranged for the information to be entered into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Honda Odyssey.
A short while later two investigators assigned to the Philadelphia PD Major Crimes Auto Squad were conducting an unrelated investigation in the northwest section of Philadelphia. The investigators picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Honda with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the highly trained investigators tracked the signal to a small side street where they observed the parked and unoccupied Honda. The investigators, who were assigned to an unmarked police vehicle, took up a surveillance position a short distance from the Honda. During the course of the surveillance, the investigators observed a male and female enter the subject vehicle with the use of a key and attempt to operate the Honda. The investigators, who were in plain clothing, approached the Honda occupants and announced “police” in a loud voice while displaying their badge and identification. The male and female were placed under arrest without incident and transported to Philadelphia PD Major Crimes Auto Squad HQ. Both perpetrators were charged with violations of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code relating to theft and the subject vehicle was subsequently returned to the rightful owner.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Honda Odyssey in August 2002 at Keenan Honda in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.