Brexit may hit stolen bike recoveries
Just as the motorcycle community is achieving some good recovery results after the theft problems of recent years, Dr Ken German, a motorcycle crime expert and former Head of Technology at the Met, has warned that the ability to track stolen machines could be compromised by Brexit. Many car and motorcycle tracking systems make use of Galileo; Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). When combined with GPS and GLONASS (the Russian alternative to American GPS), the GNSS adds an extra layer of accuracy and reliability.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal in March this year, it’s possible companies in the UK will lose access to the Galileo signal, reducing the accuracy of devices that accept the signal. In the case of vehicles with reduced signal strength, such as a bike in the back of a van or hidden in a lock up, this could be the difference between receiving a weak signal or none at all.
“There are more contingency plans than you can shake a stick at being proposed at this time to limit the effect should a ‘no deal’ occur,” says German. “No doubt the police here and in Europe will find a way to carry on; they usually do. We may, however, have to ask the Prime Minister to employ two more officers rather than one.”