Penticton

The Penticton RCMP are hoping would-be car thieves will think twice before stealing a car.

The Bait Car Program is up and running in Penticton.

Corporal Rick Dellebuur says that just having the program is a deterrent. He says that vehicle theft is down 40% in Kelowna since it started the program about six months ago, and he expects the results will be the same for Penticton.

“All indications are that wherever the program is, car theft rates have gone down,” says Dellebuur.

Dellebuur cannot say exactly how many vehicles are part of the program, but he did say there is a wide variety. The Bait vehicles will include cars, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles and ATV's.

Once a thief enters a bait car, an alarm is sent to the police, who can then monitor the car's location and shut it down. All vehicles are fitted with recording devices including video cameras.

Link: Link to Bait Car Site