Tracking Works

The three bank robbers from California who took down a PNC branch at 10:30 in the morning in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, jumped counters, put guns to customers' heads, and in general were not your run-of-the-mill note passing bank robbers. Which made the fact that the teller had enough presence of mind to include the GPS locator in with the cash even more admirable. The tiny GPS (Global Positioning System) device, placed in with the bag of money, sends out a signal to a satellite, giving its location. The satellite, in turn, transfers the information to the police computer, which can now track it. The police knew almost immediately where the car was and in what direction it was heading.

The robbers were arrested less than half an hour after they left the bank.

Copyright © 2005 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 15, No. 5, 6/05