ALARM ALERT

Vehicle security expert says systems inadequate

EVON VASSELL of Diplomat Tracking Solutions Ltd has little comfort for motorists using one – or both – of the most popular methods of thwarting motor vehicle thieves. He dismisses car alarms and kill switches (which cut the supply of fuel to the engine if not pressed within a specified time of the engine being started) as ineffective at best.

He points out that the practised, persistent thief will always find the kill switch because it has to be in a position where it can be easily accessed by the driver. “The professional thief will know everywhere likely to put a kill switch,” he said. As for the alarm, Vassell says someone with knowledge of electronics can go to a store, get a replacement controller, and stand outside a vehicle and programme it to gain access.

“The kill switch and alarms are a waste of time,” he said.

While there are other methods to protect the vehicle from theft, Vassell emphasises the value of tracking, which is what the company he operates along with co-directors Shellon Leebert and Daniel Gassop does. The objective is to prevent the vehicle from being from where the legitimate driver left it to a spot where it can be stripped and searched for any more protective devices, as well as begin to be dismantled for parts to be sold.

This awareness of the limitations of alarms and kill switches seems to be spreading as Vassell said, “once someone buys a new car, they want to see what security they can get”, this need leading some persons to his business-place. He said that even if someone cannot afford the tracking (which has a monthly fee), they are introduced to alternatives.

Still, Vassell is a man with vehicle tracking in his blood and he rattles off a few advantages of Diplomat’s service. The system updates every 10 seconds, and so tracking is done in real time. Tracking is done all across Jamaica and the vehicle can be shut down remotely. Some packages are sensitive to vibration, so there is a signal if someone tries to open the bonnet or the doors.

So far, he can point to a 100 per cent vehicle recovery rate, one of the more recent taking place two Fridays ago. It was the ninth motor vehicle recovered by Diplomat this year, and it took place around the same time an

PHOTOS BY MEL COOKE Ottis Dillon (right), operations manager at Diplomat Tracking Solutions Ltd, and supervisor Somaya Oates, in tech company’s recently opened monitoring centre.