Police are rolling out new bait trailers equipped with hidden GPS beacons so officers can track and bust thieves who steal them.
The new tactic aims to cut down the theft of more than 500 trailers stolen in B.C. each year.
That theft rate has held steady, while the successful bait car program is credited with helping dramatically chop auto theft rates by 65 per cent since 2003.
The number of vehicles stolen last year fell 22 per cent from 2009. Thefts from within vehicles dropped 15 per cent.
“A host of different types of trailers are now armed with hidden GPS technology and will be planted throughout British Columbia just waiting to be stolen,” said Sgt. Gord Elias of the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team.
“They will look just like any other trailer and will come in many makes, models, sizes and colours,” he said. “We’re going to move them around and change them up wherever they’re needed.”
Stolen trailers — cargo, utility or — recreational are often sold through ads and via websites.
Manufactured trailers must have a vehicle identification number (VIN), Elias said, and any buyer who encounters a trailer without one and suspects it’s stolen should contact police.