Hook, Line, and Sinker

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The Dallas Police Department’s Bait Car Program originally began in the Auto Theft Unit in 2003.  At that time, the program solely focused on Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (UUMV) offenses.  In 2010, the Department began the use of an additional Bait Car Program that focused on Burglary of Motor Vehicle (BMV) offenses in an effort to combat an increase in theft offenses throughout the city.  In 2013, the Department merged the two operations to create the current Bait Car program we have in use today. The cars became so intelligent that the unit was moved from Auto Theft to Operational  Technology.  Since that time, the program has grown to a fleet of more than 25 vehicles with the hopes of expanding in the next few years.  Since the merging, there has been a total of 997 Activations and 1,160 arrests to date.  Of those activations and arrests, 848 were for BMV and Theft and 149 were for UUMV.  Those activations yielded 983 arrests for BMV and 177 for UUMV.  Nearly all of the persons arrested for these offenses showed a long criminal history and have aided detectives in solving many other investigations.  The Bait Car Program hopes to expand and grow those numbers as well as the functions of the platforms the Department is using moving forward.