| Episode #: 62 Show: National 2 Airdates: Sept - Mar (see Programming Schedule for specific airtimes)
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Each year there are thousands of vehicle pursuits across the nation.
The FBI estimates between 1.5 to 2 million vehicles are stolen annually.
Created by two LAPD officers, STOVACT
puts the brakes on high speed pursuits and car theft. |
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| Broadcast
Excerpts |
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| Each year there are thousands of vehicle
pursuits across the nation. And as they increase by the year so does
the threat to human safety on our roads. The FBI estimates that there
are between 1.5 to 2 million vehicles stolen nationwide each year,
totaling a loss of approximately $8 billion. But now there seems to be a solution. A few years ago two LAPD officers developed a brilliant approach to combating the menace that car-jackings and high-speed pursuits pose on our lives. The device is called STOVEACT, the Stolen Vehicle Activation System. It's an anti-theft system that induces complete shut-down capabilities of the vehicle within one minute of activation. How does it work? Well just read on. Imagine having the ability to know exactly when your car is stolen and being able to pro-actively affect the termination of the crime in progress. To have the comfort of knowing that your investment is safe is a luxury all of us would like. Well now it's possible, and available right at your finger tips. We all go about our daily lives thinking that we're in control, until we become a victim. A victim of another car jacking or accident caused by a high-speed chase. In 1997 there were over 2600 high speed pursuits in California alone, with 377 victims killed and over 600 police officers and innocent civilians injured. And car jackings and auto theft are the leading reason why these dangerous pursuits took place. Well now there's a revolutionary new device that takes the control away from the criminal and puts it back in the hands of the innocent. It's a high tech, GPS monitored, anti-theft system that was developed by Joe Escareno and Manny Argomaniz, two active LAPD officers who had a firm believe that stopping crime should also be an empowered right of the civilian. After witnessing the devastating effects of vehicle theft, car jackings and high-speed pursuits, they developed a high tech way to stop criminals in their tracks. And because safety was the main concern, the shut-down system was developed with the surrounding traffic in mind. As soon as the shut-down feature is activated, the system warns the suspect that the vehicle is reported as stolen and it will shut-down within one minute. All too often scenes, like the on you are about to see, happen and innocent civilians become victims of potentially violent crimes. The tremendous response from Law Enforcement officials and private investors alike has encouraged the developers of STOVEACT to seek further funding in an attempt to take the company IPO. No doubt they will succeed. But the more important issue is that the advent of having safer road ways has now become more real. Attempts are now being made at the level of congress to make it mandatory that all vehicles manufactured in 2000 and beyond, are outfitted with the STOVEACT system. Maybe now car thieves would realize that you may be able to run from the law, but only for a while, and you certainly can't hide.
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