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From time to time, a private investigator may be called in to locate a missing car. A car may be stolen from a public place, a private residence or a car rental agency.
Car Theft Types:
During economically challenging times, car theft tends to increase. Some people try to steal cars from rental agencies by using fake IDs to rent cars, and then never return them. Some people steal cars for their own use, whether for regular daily use or to transport contraband items and then to be abandoned. Some people send stolen vehicles to chop shops, where the cars will be used for parts. Some people only want to take a car to races or joyrides, and will give up on it after using the car for a while.
Some people sell a stolen car to someone who has no idea they just bought a stolen vehicle. Sometimes, the owner sold the car in good faith to a person who passed a bad check. In other cases, a couple may have surrendered their second car to a re-leasing company to cut costs; However, the car may have been leased to a “customer” who disappeared. Theft may be for convenience – the thief may have some of the stolen goods to transport.
No matter what the reason for the theft, it’s up to the private investigator to use their ingenuity to figure out what happened and track down the car. It is always a good idea to file a police report first, but since the police may not take the time to locate your vehicle, a good private investigator can come in handy.
How do we track the car:
A private investigator will use tools such as phone calls, casual conversations, and interviews. A good investigator knows how to word questions and statements to get the most cooperation. Most people are shocked if someone they know has stolen a vehicle, and they will want to cooperate. The trick is in putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and tracking down the difficult information admissible in a court case.
Investigators may use license plate scanners, the GPS tracking that comes with some cars, handheld devices, cameras mounted on cars, or interviews with anyone whose job requires driving, such as delivery workers. In some countries PI agencies may have membership of professional organizations where the information collected from license plate scanners is stored in a database. Surveillance on public roads is generally legal and does not cross privacy issues. One popular technique is to monitor all vehicles stolen by owners and use scanners to locate the license plates of parked vehicles. Since thieves often change license plates, this can take time.
Human elements in the form of social media and community alerts can also work wonders. Many people have helped recover their own cars by posting pictures of their stolen cars on social media and asking people to share. It’s never a good idea to have a friend confront a car thief, but it can be really helpful if they photograph or report a stolen vehicle without the perpetrator noticing.
The thief’s clumsy plan also helps. Sometimes a thief will falsify an ID card to rent a car that they never return, but use the real address of someone they know. When we interview the person whose address was used, that person may recognize the description of the thief and give us a clue where to find him. We can then conduct surveillance and obtain video of the offender using the stolen car, which will be admissible in court. Once we have enough evidence to stand in court, we can wait for the criminal to come in at night and stabilize the car with car boots before making any attempt at contact.
Over the years, private investigators build relationships with informants. Knowing how to make friends with people who can supply information is golden. Cooperation from all sources is the most important key to solving crimes, and a good private investigator knows how to build those relationships.
Other sources of information, although not as glamorous, are salvage yards, auto manufacturers, trash cans on public streets, and hidden cameras in public areas. We can also maintain a list of vehicles that have out-of-region registration tags, check vehicle registrations for those tags, and track the lien (lender) of the vehicle. This is public information and we can call the lender to see if the vehicle is stolen.
Another easy way to verify this is the car we’re looking for is to check the VIN number, which often appears on the driver’s side.
Car possession:
Once a car has been located, it can be easily retrieved and the method will be agreed upon in advance by the private investigator and the client. Upon detection of the car, it may be booted or disabled before the PI does one of three things, depending on the customer’s wishes: knocks on the suspect’s door and asks for the keys, notifies the police, or Notifies the customer. It is never a good idea for a client to contact the criminal, but the client can approach the police.
If the customer is a business such as a rental car agency, the customer may instruct the private investigator to retrieve the vehicle. A team of two pieces will go to the location, boot up the car and explain to the criminal who they are and why they are there. They will cite to the violator the specific vehicle codes that were violated and the jail time or fines associated with such offenses. They will be firm but also very professional. Most criminals once confronted will hand over the keys without much fuss. If not, a tow truck may be called to remove the vehicle. This should not be done without solid evidence and knowing the laws in your area.
How to prevent theft:
Most vehicles sold today have key code or tracking systems such as LoJack or OnStar. Some have microdots that tag different parts of the car, so they can be identified if the car visits a chop shop. However, even very sophisticated systems can be circumvented by professional thieves.
The best car theft prevention devices, such as ignition interlocks and pedal locks, disable the vehicle so that it cannot be moved without the correct keys. If your car doesn’t come with these devices, you can buy a self-setting immobilizer. Always lock and park your vehicle at the safest place.
Unfortunately, car thefts are very common. Using proper safety precautions and keeping a photo and copies of vehicle registration information can help you in case of theft. A good private investigator will work in your best interests in car recovery.
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