Joe Duck

Have Blog. Will Travel.

GPS Jesus nabs nativity ne’er-do-well

After several baby Jesus statue thefts over the years, a woman in Florida decided to outfit a nativity scene with GPS tracking located in the statues.  Baby Jesus was nabbed again, but this time police could use the GPS to track the perpetrator to the house across from the crime scene and the nativity scene.

An 18 year old woman was booked on theft charges.

Engadget has more

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December 28, 2007 - Posted by | not yet categorized

8 Comments »

  1. I can just see a developing marketing trend: GPS detection devices for thieves so they will learn before they steal an item whether the owner was sufficiently hi-tech and alert.

    Comment by Fools Gold | December 29, 2007 | Reply

  2. I wonder how expensive the GPS trackers are and if they’d be worthwhile to steal …

    Nah, just kidding :)

    Now if only I could attach a GPS tracking device to my keychain (without turning it into a brick) ….

    Comment by John | December 30, 2007 | Reply

  3. Hehe -FG it’s the larceny niche market.

    John – I could use that keychain GPS myself.

    So then what if a market for GPS jammers develops, and it begins a GPS arms race?

    Comment by JoeDuck | December 30, 2007 | Reply

  4. Its not really GPS jammers, but simply GPS spoofers that would be the real threat.
    A Jammer would render the signals unusable but a spoofer is a way of making the GPS signals so strong locally that they over-ride the real signals. It is helpful, or perhaps frightening, to remember that most GPS equipment that navigates oil tankers are not secure or robust. Virtually all GPS receivers and loggers will respond to the strongest signal that they receive. Authentication of that signal is not really built involved.

    Comment by Fools Gold | December 31, 2007 | Reply

  5. Nannies often have a device that beeps if a child gets a certain distance away and similar devices are used for briefcases and keychains, but rather than just a chirping to indicate the pre-set distance has been exceeded, perhaps the next step is a full GPS capability to indicate exact location of the missing item.

    Comment by Fools Gold | January 1, 2008 | Reply

  6. Y’know, I’m feeling a country music Christmas carol coming on here…

    The GPS were chirping on that cold December night
    A baby Jesus stolen, it really don’t seem right
    The cops pulled up, their guns ablaze, lighting up the sky
    Then they saved that baby Jesus, and we all began to cry

    Comment by JoeDuck | January 1, 2008 | Reply

  7. Very interesting and helpful post.
    I add your blog in my Google Reader! ;)

    Comment by Sanchez | February 28, 2008 | Reply

  8. Un grand oui !

    Comment by rami | April 21, 2011 | Reply


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