A thief in West Vancouver was hooked by police after allegedly helping himself to some electronic bait placed in a police bait car.
Police got an alert around 8 p.m. Saturday that someone had entered a bait car parked on a residential street in the Cedardale area of West Vancouver, east of Taylor Way.
Bait cars are special cars used by police forces throughout the Lower Mainland to nab thieves. While they look like ordinary cars, bait cars are equipped with audio and video recorders and can be controlled remotely by police. In some cases, police also place objects like marked cellphones and other electronics in cars to lure thieves who might be tempted to help themselves.
In this case, police officers confirmed the electronic “bait” had been taken from the car then set up road blocks to check cars leaving the neighbourhood. An officer on the road check noticed items in one car that appeared similar to those stolen from the bait car. Serial numbers confirmed they were the same items. The driver of the car was arrested.
Scott Norman Taylor, 49, of Vancouver, faces charges of theft under $5,000 and possession of stolen property under $5,000.
