The next time burglars break into a house in Atherton, they could find themselves walking into a trap and a quick trip to jail.
Faced with a spike in residential burglaries, police in this wealthy Northern California city decided this year to try an unusual tactic: the “Bait House Program.”
“We don't want to do nothing and just let it happen,” the commander said. Daniel Larsen of the Atherton Police Department. “We want to be proactive and deter.”
About 50 homeowners in the community have volunteered their homes for the police department's “Bait House Program,” Larsen said. As part of the program, police equip certain valuable items in homes with GPS devices to track them and hopefully bring them directly to criminals.
The program began to take shape in February, when agents noticed an increase in robberies in the city of about 7,000 residents, he said.
Last year, Atherton reported 17 residential burglaries throughout the year. So far this year, the city has already had 15 robberies.
That's when one of the officers came up with the idea of a “Bait House,” Larsen said.
Police selected the first home last week and maintain a list of homeowners who have volunteered to equip their belongings with GPS devices.
Once GPS devices are added, police will be alerted when the object moves. That means that even if home alarm systems don't alert police to a burglary, the movement of objects can also secretly alert police, he said.
Police are also using license plate reading cameras in the city in conjunction with the program, he said. Investigators can track the GPS signal and use the cameras and real-time location of stolen items to follow the movement of vehicles and track thieves and stolen property wherever they go.
“If we can't stop him at the scene, then we can trace the property wherever he goes,” he said.
If belongings are inadvertently moved around the home, police have a plan to contact the owner to avoid any confusion.
“The last thing we want to do is show up at someone's house when they're just redecorating,” he said.
Larsen did not say how many homes are used at a time or where, but said investigators are trying to be selective and strategic to find a pattern for the targeted homes. Homeowners are also told that if their home was not selected at this time, they may contact them later.
No arrests have been made yet.
Despite the program's name, Larsen said, the targeted homes are not being made more “attractive” to burglars.
In fact, he said, he hopes news of the program itself can be a deterrent to thieves thinking about targeting Atherton homes. There may be only a handful of homes equipped with these “GPS” traps, she said, but she hopes thieves will feel like every home is a trap.
