Seventeen Global Positioning Systems were stolen from dashboards in Fair Lawn during a seven-week stretch this spring. Lyndhurst, which investigated 11 such thefts last year, has seen 27 stolen in less than five months this year. And in North Arlington, thieves have snatched 13, after only two in 2006.

"GPS thefts are probably the most common thing for us now," Wayne Deputy Police Chief John Reardon said. "We get numerous calls a week, which only started the last year or so."

Because they can retail for up to $1,000, the devices "have amazing black market value," Elmwood Park Police Detective Vincent Seillieri said.

"We've gotten information that they're being sold to livery cab drivers in Newark and New York City ... [for] $100 each," North Arlington police Lt. John Hearn said. "So if someone steals a few of these, that's $600 or $700 right there."

But authorities say there is a simple remedy: The devices are portable, so store the units and their holders out of sight.

"Suction-cup mounts are also an advertisement for a break-in," Hasbrouck Heights police Capt. William Castiglione said.

But despite the warnings, some motorists still aren't as careful as they should be with the units.

A few weeks ago, Elmwood Park police posted fliers on cars parked in large lots warning owners about a spate of break-ins.

"The next day, another GPS was stolen out of the same lot we canvassed," Police Chief Don Ingrasselino said. "People think it can't happen to them."

Experts call the problem an unfortunate consequence to the recent GPS industry boom. While the development of such equipment is hardly new, the widespread sale of navigation systems for use in cars is a fairly recent trend.

In 2006, the automotive sector of GPS brand Garmin reported a 170 percent increase in revenue, from $403.4 million to $1.09 billion, spokesman Ted Gartner said. Last week, one of Garmin's models was among the bestselling electronics on Amazon.com -- second only to an iPod.

"Everyone in the business recognizes it's become a problem," Gartner said. "The best deterrent is to remove the unit from your dash."

But cops are starting to get savvy tracking down GPS thieves.

Police task forces have been created to pool GPS-related intelligence, like the one among Elmwood Park, Fair Lawn and Saddle Brook.

Break-in tallies have become a topic of conversation at monthly detective meetings. In Paramus, where the 31 GPS thefts so far in 2007 is outpacing the 61 from 2006, police have set up stings in which cars are outfitted with GPS devices in plain view.

"A lot of us detectives ... we've been working close," Seillieri said. "And you have to with a problem that's as widespread as this."

Lui Lee, 41, of Queens, was pulled over by Paramus police last year after being spotted allegedly casing a Garden State Plaza parking lot. He admitted to seven GPS-related thefts, and was later sentenced to four years in prison, police said.

On April 8, three teens were arrested by Hasbrouck Heights police after they were caught breaking into cars around a Route 17 hotel, Castiglione said.

One of the more notorious cases happened May 5 and involved a 14-year-old Newark boy who led North Arlington police on a brief car chase into neighboring Belleville, said Hearn, the North Arlington police lieutenant.

The chase ended when the teenager's stolen sports utility vehicle plowed into a utility pole, and authorities discovered two GPS devices that were reported stolen from a Kearny neighborhood earlier that night, Hearn said.

"These are crimes of opportunity," Teaneck Police Lt. Dean Kazinci said. "As much as we preach crime prevention, you simply cannot leave property in plain view."

Source: NorthJercy.com