From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.misc
Your tax dollars are paying for it, so you may as well go get one ...
Denver Police Department Hands Out Free AirTags
in Hope of Cutting Auto Thefts
-----------------------------------------------
The Denver, Colorado Police Department has started a new program,
handing out free AirTags to Denver drivers to hide in their
vehicles in the hopes of reducing vehicle thefts, reports
Mactrast.
The AirTag has proven to be a valuable tool in the war on crime,
and it has regularly assisted police in recovering several stolen
cars (and other stolen items) and making arrests, thanks to the
AirTag's ability to reveal the location of the tracker, which is
usually in the same location as the stolen vehicles.
The Denver Police Department's DenverTrack program has begun
handing out Apple AirTags and Samsung SmartTags to drivers to
hide in their vehicles. The new program will initially hand out
450 free tracking tags between March 19 and 21. The AirTags and
SmartTags are provided by the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention
Authority.
<
https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Police-Department/Safety-and-Crime-Prevention/Auto-Theft-Prevention>
Vehicle owners register for the program using a form to provide
information about their vehicle and any built-in GPS tracking or
third-party tracking devices they already use. A report is
generated, and an email is sent to the vehicle's owner confirming
the vehicle's registration and providing a permanent case report
number.
A DenverTrack decal will also be sent to the vehicle owner by mail,
which can be placed in the vehicle's window.
"DenverTrack registration preauthorizes the Denver Police
Department to work with GPS information, provided by a
vehicle owner, when a vehicle is reported stolen. Vehicle
owners are responsible for ensuring their GPS or other
tracking device is maintained and serviceable. In the
unfortunate event a vehicle is stolen, the vehicle owner
is responsible for providing the location of their
vehicle to responding officers. To accomplish this, the
vehicle owner contacts their GPS service provider or
accesses their Bluetooth tracker app and shares that
location in real-time with officers. In certain
situations, officers may work with victims to get verbal
consent for their tracking service to give real-time
updates to officers. At no point are officers able to
access any GPS or track/tag system directly. A DenverTrack
decal is mailed after registration and should be placed on
the vehicle's driver side window as a deterrent,
advertising to thieves that the car will be tracked if
it's stolen."
Drivers who don't have a tracking system built into their vehicle
and who don't own an AirTag or a SmartTag can sign up for an
in-person registration event.
If a vehicle registered in the program is stolen, the owner can call
911 to report it and confirm that it's registered in the DenverTrack
program. The police will then work with the driver to access the
vehicle's built-in tracking system or track the AirTag or other
brand tracking tile.
While registering the vehicle with the program "preauthorizes the
Denver Police Department to work with GPS information," it does not
grant automatic access to the vehicle's location information.
Officers cannot view the location of an AirTag unless the owner
shares that information via their iPhone's Find My app.
<
https://www.idropnews.com/news/denver-police-department-hands-out-free-airtags-in-hope-of-cutting-auto-thefts/242300/>
--- Synchronet 3.20c-Linux NewsLink 1.2