LoJack Recoveries Tally $500 Million In Consumer Savings
4 August 1999
LoJack Recoveries Tally $500 Million In Consumer Savings -- Increasing Efforts To Drive Auto Thieves Out of Business
DEDHAM, Mass.--Aug. 3, 1999--LoJack Corp., developer and marketer of the LoJack System, a stolen-vehicle tracking device used exclusively by law enforcement personnel to track and recover stolen vehicles, announces their 30,000th recovery since the system became operational in 1986.In all, more than $500 million in automotive assets have been recovered in the past 13 years by police using LoJack technology. LoJack has been developed with and is manufactured by the Motorola Corporation.
LoJack's 30,000 recovery was a stolen Plymouth Neon, tracked with the silent LoJack tracking system by Detroit police. The car was discovered five hours after it was first reported stolen. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the crime.
According to the FBI, auto theft is now a $7 billion enterprise in the United States. "The irony in this situation is that if the auto theft industry were a legitimate corporation, it would certainly rank among the top companies in the country," said Joseph Abely, president and COO of LoJack Corp.
"Auto theft is an enormous drain on our economy. At LoJack, our long range goal is to put professional car thieves and their chop shop operations out of business," said Abely.
This year, LoJack will expand its network to 7 new markets in the US: New Orleans, LA; Las Vegas, NV; Northeast Florida; San Antonio and Austin, TX; Northern California and North Carolina.
"In the past 13 years, we have donated equipment, training, and support to the officers on the front lines, equipping state, county and local police departments, as well as special auto theft task forces, and U.S. Customs, with LoJack tracking devices at no cost to the public. Yet, the war is hardly over," he explained.
The "art" of stealing, chopping up and selling new, as well as used cars and trucks, has become the largest property crime in the United States, with over 1.4 million cars and trucks stolen in 1997, the FBI's latest reporting year. This amounts to one theft every 23 seconds.
According to police reports, when professional car thieves "go shopping" they look for the most popular selling vehicles on the market, those with the greatest resale value for illegally sold parts.
When a car is sold illegally for parts, it can fetch three times the value of the vehicle, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). Currently, two of the most popular cars targeted by thieves are Hondas and Toyotas.
"Rapid recovery is the key to getting a car back undamaged," says Abely. "On a national average, 90% of cars equipped with LoJack are recovered."
Financial Loss To Insurance Companies
But, in the stolen car war, consumers aren't the only ones who are harmed by the lucrative auto crime industry. Their insurance companies also pay a heavy toll.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that auto theft is a key factor in driving up insurance rates and also adds to overhead costs as well.
LoJack Equipped Police Departments See Improvement in
Auto Theft Statistics
Police departments equipped with LoJack tracking devices see a drop in auto theft in their communities. The National Bureau of Economic Research data shows that one auto theft is eliminated annually for every three LoJacks installed.
As car thieves in a given neighborhood or city have their operations disrupted by LoJack, police report a disruption in "chop shop" operations and a drop in other auto-theft related criminal acts, according to NBER.
Over the years, LoJack estimates that some 20% of LoJack recoveries have resulted in an arrest. Auto thieves tend to branch out into other criminal activities, and when police make an arrest, they often find that the criminal is wanted for other crimes as well. Additionally, LoJack technology has assisted police in disbanding hundreds of chop shops around the country.
LoJack networks are now installed in major metropolitan areas from coast to coast, where approximately 60% of the country's population resides.
Note to Editors: Additional background information on LoJack is available at www.lojack.com. Auto theft and crime statistics may be accessed on line at: FBI: www.fbi.gov; National Bureau of Economic Research: www.nber.com; CCC Information Services: www.cccis.com; and National Insurance Crime Bureau, www.nicb.com.
