NU Online News Service, Oct. 29, 10:29 a.m.EDT

Authorities in Louisiana have teamed up with insurance interestsfor a major bait car program to combat vehicle theft in the state,it was announced yesterday.

State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon held a press conferencein New Orleans yesterday to publicize the technology being put inplace.

He said two programs within the Department of Insurance'sLouisiana Automobile Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority(LATIFPA) are aimed at reducing vehicle theft and insurance fraudin Orleans Parish.

He was joined at the press conference by New Orleans PoliceDepartment Assistant Superintendent Marlon Defillo and NationalInsurance Crime Bureau President and Chief Executive Officer JoeWehrle.

The commissioner said that in partnership with the Crime Bureauand New Orleans police, LATIFPA is expanding its VehicleInvestigation Prevention Enforcement Response (VIPER) and itsLicense Plate Recognition (LPR) programs.

VIPER, it was explained is the statewide bait car program whereLATIFPA and the NICB, equip vehicles donated by insurance companieswith the latest digital, video and audio recording devices, GPStracking, remote door locking and engine shutoff capabilities.

Upon activation of the system, law enforcement can stop the baitcar, lock suspects in a vehicle they are attempting to make offwith and make arrests.

Commissioner Donelon said the target goal of the VIPER programis to have multiple bait vehicles in every major city in Louisianawhere there are incidences of increased vehicle theft.

"New Orleans received its first bait car in September so it'sonly been active for about a month," Mr. Donelon related. The VIPERprogram, he said, was delayed in New Orleans due to the aftermathof Hurricane Katrina.

LATIFPA has placed two bait vehicles in Baton Rouge, one inShreveport and one in Lake Charles and these four bait carscombined have resulted in 75 activations and 99 arrests, theLouisiana Insurance Department said in a statement.

So far there have been no activations or arrests associated withthe new bait vehicle in the city of New Orleans,

Commissioner Donelon also announced that the LATIFPA board ofdirectors had recently approved the award of a second License PlateReader to New Orleans.

The LPR program is funded by LATIFPA and implemented inconjunction with the NICB.

LPR systems are designed to capture pictures of thousands oflicense plates from moving or stationary vehicles, process theimages and send the images to a centralized database, and withinseconds determine if the vehicle matching the license plate hasbeen reported stolen.

"This technology has also been used by law enforcement to trackAmber Alerts, car jackings, and robberies with vehicledescriptions," Commissioner Donelon said.

Under the LATIFPA License Plate Recognition program, LPR systemswill also be put in place in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and inTangipahoa Parish, the commissioner said.

The first LPR received by New Orleans in January 2009 has so faraided in the recovery of 16 stolen vehicles valued at approximately$191,000 and one stolen license plate has been recovered. All ofthe LPRs in Louisiana combined have aided in the recovery of 91stolen vehicles valued at approximately $914,000, 24 stolen licenseplates and 40 arrests through September 2009, it was reported.

Commissioner Donelon said that according to the FBI, there werenearly 1 million motor vehicle thefts in the United States in 2008with an estimated value of $6.4 billion.

In Louisiana, there were nearly 14,000 vehicles reported stolenin 2008, ranking Louisiana 21st in the nation in the actual numberof vehicles stolen.

Also in 2008, the FBI reported that New Orleans was rankedhighest in Louisiana for motor vehicle theft offenses known to lawenforcement, with 3,208 motor vehicle thefts. Shreveport/BossierCity is second with 1,253 reported motor vehicle thefts. BatonRouge was next, reporting 974 motor vehicle thefts that sameyear.

Insurance fraud accounts for 10 percent of the property andcasualty insurance industry's losses and those losses are passed onto the public with higher premiums, said Commissioner Donelon.

He added that the average household pays over $950 a year inadditional premiums to cover insurance fraud.

LATIFPA was created by the Louisiana Legislature in 2004 and isa public agency whose purpose is to combat motor vehicle theft,including fraud by theft and other criminal acts.