Police Commission Urges Council to Accept : L.A. Offered Free Equipment for Tracking Stolen Cars

An innovative stolen car tracking system that state legislators refused to approve for Los Angeles last year could be in place by the end of the year under a plan approved by city police commissioners.

The Los Angeles Police Commission recommended Tuesday that the City Council agree to a proposed contract under which LoJack Corp. would lease patented, high-tech equipment to the city for five years at no charge and then transfer ownership to the city, officials said. The agreement would amount to a gift of the $1.4-million system to the city.

If approved by the council, any Los Angeles driver could buy and install a $600 transmitter that could be tracked by police computers if the vehicle were stolen. Police helicopters and about 300 patrol cars would be equipped with the small tracking computers.

The system, which police officials said could be expanded statewide, is modeled after one begun in Massachusetts in 1986. That system has led to recovery of 98% of LoJack-equipped cars in an average of 90 minutes, Massachusetts state police said.

Promise to Buyers

LoJack sells transmitters to Massachusetts drivers with a promise that the cost will be refunded if the car is stolen and not recovered within 24 hours. As of August, 12,000 cars were participating in that statewide system.

A California bill last year that would have allocated $1 million to establish a Stolen Car Recovery Network pilot program in Los Angeles County was dropped amid criticism that it was tailor-made to give LoJack, of Braintree, Mass., a monopoly.

The proposal, by Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), was dropped after an intense lobbying effort by other car security companies. None of those companies has similar technology but they say they could develop similar equipment in less than a year.

The Police Commission’s 5-0 vote prompted at least one of those competitors to cry foul Wednesday.

“It looks like they are trying to go through the back door with what they couldn’t go through the front door with,” said Carolyn Drori, an attorney representing Clifford Electronics, a Chatsworth firm that was one of several auto security companies that opposed the LoJack proposal.

Drori said the opponents fear that establishing the LoJack system will lock them out. “We don’t want to stop the LAPD if they think this is an important tool,” Drori said. “But let’s make sure it is the best system and an open system.”

LoJack officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The proposed LoJack contract is non-exclusive, meaning the Police Department could use any equipment developed by competing firms that works better or could support LoJack equipment, said Sgt. Jeff Hulet, the department’s technical coordinator of the tracking system.

While much of the LoJack equipment is patented, the radio frequency used in the system is a public frequency. This might allow LoJack competitors to develop equipment for the system.

Under the proposal, Hulet said, LoJack would enter into the contract with the city, which would then be empowered to share the equipment with the Sheriff’s Department. Computer bases for the system would likely be located at both departments and at the state Department of Justice, he said.

Hulet said there are no regulations preventing the city from accepting the free equipment if the council decides it is in the city’s best interest. Because it is free, there is no need to put the contract out for competitive bidding, he added.

“It’s a moot point,” Hulet said. “How do you propose getting it for better than free?”

The City Council is scheduled to consider the proposal in four to six weeks, said Officer Bill Farrar of the Police Department’s evaluation unit, which began studying the system nearly two years ago.