Denver Police Department Hands Out Free AirTags in Hope of Cutting Auto Thefts
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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.
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 AirTaf 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.
