Police Busted When Tracking Device Found On Car

uh oh notes a story from Down Under where a police investigation came to a screeching halt as a man being investigated by the police found tracking devices in two of his cars, ripped them out, and listed them on an auction site. "Ralph Williams, of Cromwell, said he found the devices last week in his daughter's car, which he uses, and in his flatmate's car after the cars were seized by police and taken away for investigation."

Good going from the PR dept.

[Realistic_Dragon]

Police have neither confirmed nor denied they placed the devices.

...followed shortly by...

A Trade Me spokesman said the listing was removed yesterday afternoon "at the request of the New Zealand Police".

Re:Frist Psot

[Anonymous Coward]

Obviously not you.

Re:Can you legally sell them

[Asmor]

Well, it is a very well-documented legal fact that possession is 9/10 of the law.

Therefore, all the man has to do to be in the right is provide the police with 10% of the proceeds from the sale.

Re:Can you legally sell them

[GISGEOLOGYGEEK]

Reminds me of when my brother was arrested for siphoning gas from cars ... and after the judge found him to be innocent, he was allowed to collect his siphoning gear back from the evidence locker.

Two Words: Helium Balloons...

[stoicfaux]

He should have attached the devices to helium balloons and set them aloft.

Re:Would've been hilarious if...

[arivanov]

Er... Why?

Glue them to a bus. Best of all a long range one. Or a delivery van.

Re:Can you legally sell them

[daeg]

The police won't admit or deny they placed them. The owner of the cars most certainly own them.

I would've attached them to a police car, though. Or a public bus. Or some kid's tricycle.

Re:Would've been hilarious if...

[Tribbles]

Or a police car.

Re:Why sell them? Then you admit they were there..

[antifoidulus]

Or hide them somewhere near the police station and then re-activate them.

Police:Dear god, he is in the building 24/7 and yet we haven't seen him. He must be an invisible, cop hating machine that requires no food or water! Lets not fuck with him!

Re:Why sell them? Then you admit they were there..

[Colin Smith]

I would have tied them on to a long distance lorry.

 

Re:Why sell them? Then you admit they were there..

[Barny]

Or even better, put each of them into separate packages, mail one to China and one to America.

Would love to see the police phone bill after that ^_^

Re:Two Words: Helium Balloons...

[dattaway]

I would have mailed them to Nigeria or someplace where the roaming charges are quite high.

Re:When pigs fly

[Anonymous Coward]

MPH? MILES Per Hour? Why would the New Zealand police have their tracking system set to that old thing?

Re:Can you legally sell them

[empaler]

Usually the lists are maintained by the police (in Denmark, at least), so that would be a moot point. Forking over a small amount of money to get a compatible cable, then blanking the IMEI and replacing it with one from an old phone that you then reported stolen, however... :)

Re:Good going from the PR dept.

[really?]

That's exactly what I was going to write. But then, suddenly, monkeys flew out of my ass and while I was dealing with that, you beat me to the post. Oh well, one lives and learns; sleep with butt cheeks clenched tight from now on.

Re:Would've been hilarious if...

[Anonymous Coward]

Glue your arch-nemesis to a bus? Remind me never to become your arch-nemesis...

Re:Would've been hilarious if...

[jamstar7]

Naw, glue 'em to a 747 and watch the cops go nuts when they see it moving at over 400 MPH...

Re:Would've been hilarious if...

[arivanov]

Actually on a second though the most fun is a post van.

Re:Can you legally sell them

[b0s0z0ku]

I would've attached them to a police car, though. Or a public bus. Or some kid's tricycle.

Or flush it down a fast intercity train's toilet in a waterproof bag. Watch them try to chase it at 120 mph.

-b.

Re:Legality?

[Midnight Thunder]

Then again, maybe it's stamped "Property of New Zealand Police. Removal prohibited". One never knows.

Or more likely, based on the article: "Not Property of New Zealand Police, we don't even know about it. Removal prohibited by order of New Zealand Police" ;)

Re:Why sell them? Then you admit they were there..

[Lumpy]

Nope. You want to confuse the piss out of the cops. find where you can apply the trackers to that will be incredibly random. Taxicab is the best choice as they go all over with no real pattern. A large stray dog is also fun.

Re:Would've been hilarious if...

[MeanE]

Or to a different country. Roaming charges bitch!

Re:they will become mandatory sometime too

[rishistar]

OnStar is a useful system to have in case your vehicle gets stolen. Problem for GM is their cars are so bad that noone will even steal them.

Re:Can you legally sell them

[RKBA]

"If that's true, then the question is, who possesses the law?"

We the people of the United States ... do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. [dotson.net] Governmental authority, including the authority to create law, is granted by the people. Furthermore, if I may quote the Declaration of Independence:

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Re:Sue the police?

[cyberwench]

False Pretences

Pretending to practise witchcraft, etc.

365. Every one who fraudulently

(a) pretends to exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration,

So, if you legitimately practice witchcraft, that's ok? Looks like the sort of law that would need a bit more fleshing out.

Re:Can you legally sell them

[Hucko]

you've met my brother then...

Re:Can you legally sell them

[cp.tar]

In Germany, you're now accused of being a "hacker" if you own "hacking tools" (like nmap or other tools used to secure your own network). So I wouldn't feel too safe. Depending on where you are, of course.

OK, I'm never going to Germany.

I could easily be accused of being a rapist, since I "own" certain "raping tools", i.e. a penis.

And I carry it with me all the fscking time.

Re:Would've been hilarious if...

[IdleTime]

Attach the device the police officers wifes car and watch him have to explain to his wife why there is a tracking device on her car that reports back to her husbands cellphone! :)

Re:Can you legally sell them

[wirelessbuzzers]

O.J.: Radio interview quote from Marine Corps General Reinwald and a female radio host. He wants to host some boy scouts at the training center for some practise excercises. As follows
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?
GENERAL REINWALD: We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery, and shooting.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Shooting! That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?
GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see why, they'll be properly supervised on the rifle range.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?
GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.
FEMALE INTERVIEWER: But you're equipping them to become violent killers.
GENERAL REINWALD: Well, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?
The radio went silent and the interview ended. You gotta love the Marines!

-- bash.org [bash.org]

Re:Can you legally sell them

[Lord Balto]

In the minds of most police, they are not subject to the law. They ARE the law. Just ask the next one you see on the street (and hope he has a sense of humor). Personally, I would have driven to the officer's house on numerous occasions while sending him messages about "the operation" and finally telling him "the cheeseberger is ready to be fried."

Re:Sue the police?

[Nazlfrag]

he is in the Grand Old Pedophiles and Corrupt Thieves and Draft Dodgers and Deserters Party, which has become little more than a machine of immoral cowardly thieves stealing as much as they can from the public tills.

You'll have to be more specific I'm afraid, I still can't tell which party that is.

Re:Two Words: Helium Balloons...

[RubberDogBone]

... So some cop watching the console suddenly sees the trackers heading out to sea, until it disappears when the cell signal fades out. hahaha

Might even be a spit-take in the police station.

A city bus!

[swb]

A city bus is another good choice; some might switch routes from day-day, making an apparently random set of non-random patterns, as well as driving the cops bonkers if they try to tail the car based on the location data -- "we couldn't catch up, this bus kept getting in the way.."

I also like the idea of driving to the mall and putting them on someone else's car, as well as putting them on a neighbor's car, which might never get found since the car would keep returning "home".

Re:Can you legally sell them

[greginnj]

And no, if a burglar drops his wallet with $1,000 on your floor, that doesn't make the money yours. He may be guilty of a crime, but that doesn't give you any rights to what's not yours. [...]

And sometimes things are left on your property, for you, and they are in fact yours.

Waitaminute, so if the neighbor walks his dog and it craps on my lawn, and while he's doing it the neighbor drops his wallet, the dog crap belongs to me, but the wallet does not? How unfair can life be?