Issuu

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUTO THEFT INVESTIGATORS

The APB P.O. Box 223 Clinton, NY 13323

APRIL/MAY 2018 • VOLUME 24, NO. 1

66TH ANNUAL IAATI TRAINING SEMINAR

PITTSBURGH TO HOST OUR 2018 IAATI TRAINING SEMINAR PICTURED

PITTSBURGH, PA: T H E A P B • APRIL/MAY 2018 • VOLUME 24, NO. 1

66TH ANNUAL TRAINING SEMINAR PAGE 6

REMEMBERING

MARK BENNEDICK PAGE 46 THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUTO THEFT INVESTIGATORS

International Association of Auto Theft Investigators International Training Seminar

Save the Date: August 5 -10, 2018 300 W Station Square Drive ◦ Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ◦ United States ◦ 412-261-1000

Join us for an unprecedented training and networking opportunity held at the beautiful Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. Room Rate Special: $130/night Mention Code: “IAATI”    

Four Days of Training including hands on workshops for only $300

Topics and training blocks include:

The growing element of cargo theft and its implications Social media and technology updates including new resources for investigation Classes for stronger investigative teams Hands-on displays and live demonstrations of techniques and positive identification of vehicles and construction equipment  Meet new private sector partners dedicated to our mission and review new products available  Expert networking and resource building with speakers and co-attendees  International colleagues and presenters

APB

THE

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUTO THEFT INVESTIGATORS

April/May 2018 • Volume 24, No. 1 EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT James (J.D.) D. Hough Lojack, Gilbert, Arizona Tel: 602-725-7625 jdhough@iaati.org 1st VICE PRESIDENT William Henry Johnson Arvada Police Dept. Criminal Inv. Bureau, Arvada, Colorado

Barbara Rambo National Insurance Crime Bureau, Park Forest, Illinois Tel: 708-748-9515 brambo@iaati.org Renato Schipani Interpol, Lyon, France Tel: +33472445738 rschipani@iaati.org Danny Sheppard Galveston Co ACTF, Dickson, Texas

Tel: 720-898-6746 whjohnson@iaati.org

Tel: 409-766-4500 dsheppard@iaati.org

2nd VICE PRESIDENT Marthinus H. Odendal Zonke-Unicode, South African Police Service, Johannesburg, Gauteng

Richard Spallinger National Insurance Crime Bureau Cortaro, Arizona

todendal@Iaati.org

Tel: 520-940-8831 rspallinger@iaati.org

3rd VICE PRESIDENT Paul Thomas South Australian Attorney General’s Department, Adelaide, South Australia

Daniel T. Nel Tracker Network / South African Police Service Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Tel: (+61) 0401 122 366 pthomas@iaati.org 4th VICE PRESIDENT Brad Anderson Erie Insurance Erie Insurance, Lancaster P.D., Pennsylvania Tel: 717-923-0134 bradanderson@iaati.org TREASURER Robert C. Hasbrouck Port Authority of New York & New Jersey P.D., Brooklyn, New York

Tel: 27-11-380-0348 dnel@iaati.org David Northey Retainagroup Ltd. Luton, UK Tel: +44 1582 411566 davidn@iaati.org Walter Robinson Palm Beach S.O. West Palm Beach, Florida Tel: 561-688-6231 wrobinson@iaati.org

Michelle Lanham Orion Communications Inc., Reduce Auto Theft in Texas Task Force, Dallas, Texas Tel: 817-291-7208 mlanham@iaati.org Jorge Omar Nasrala Buenos Aires Provincial Police, Buenos Aires, Argentina jnasrala@iaati.org Jari Tiainen National Bureau of Investigation Vantaa, Finland Tel: 00358295486265 iaati0135@iaati.org

Tel: 864-809-7310 hbeck@iaati.org

Carlos Alberto Betancur Ruiz Vodafone Automotive Brasil Sao Paulo, Brasil

Western Regional Chapter President Michael O’Neill Hagerty Insurance South Pasadena , California

Tel: +55113164-8139 cabetancurruiz@iaati.org

CHAPTER/BRANCH PRESIDENTS Australasian Branch President Mark Pollard Fire Investigation Risk & Enquiry Services Collinswood, South Australia Tel: (+61) 0418841899 mpollard@iaati.org

Tel: +2711 453 0868 philip@iaati.org

Tel: +45-41919191 akn@fogp.dk

Tel: 315-853-1913 jvabounader@iaati.org

Frank N. Cruz National Insurance Crime Bureau Tucson, Arizona

Ana Laura Brizuela Auxiliar Letrado En Juzado Buenos Aires, Argentina Tel: 0054 11 3910 8454 analaurabrizuela@iaati.org Reginald Phillips VRSS Phillips Security Brantford, Ontario, Canada Tel: 519-756-8536 regphillips@iaati.org

APRIL/MAY 2018

Tel: 520-940-2713 fcruz@iaati.org Arne Knippel Danish Insurance Association Hellerup, Denmark Tel: +45-41919191 akn@fogp.dk

Tel: 214-670-0884 rstacy@iaati.org

Tel: +441784778310 vwise@iaati.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR John V. Abounader New York State DMV Auto Theft, Utica, New York

DIREC TORS

South Central Regional Chapter President Reid Stacy Dalas (TX) P.D., Dallas, Texas

Vincent Wise Datatag Id Ltd Egham, SURREY

European Branch President Arne Knippel Danish Insurance Association Hellerup, Denmark

A S S O C I AT E D I R E C T O R S

Tel: 718-217-8486 jguidice@iaati.org

Southeast Regional Chapter President Henry Beck Lojack Corporation Wellford, South Carolina

Philip Opperman Recoveri Edenvale, Gauteng, South Africa

Tel: 718-630-4512 rchasbrouck@iaati.org

Northeast Regional Chapter President Joseph Guidice New York City P.D., Auto Crimes Queens Village, NY

Latin American Branch President Daniel Beck Lojack, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tel: 800-922-4050 moneill@iaati.org Southern African Branch President Motsamai Mollo NAAMSA Pretoria,GAUTENG South Africa Tel: +27 12-842-2994 mmollo@iaati.org

OTHER OFFICERS Legal Advisors John O’Byrne jobyrne@iaati.org Kevin McHugh kmchugh@iaati.org Sponsorship Director Brad Anderson bradanderson@iaati.org

Tel: +541147118813 dbeck@iaati.org

E-News (Auto Theft Today) Editor Christopher McDonold cmcdonold@iaati.org

United Kingdom Branch President Mike Briggs VSST Ltd. Bershire, UK

E-News Editor Emeritus James D. Holmes jdholmes@iaati.org

Tel: +44 (0) 7785778550 mbriggs@iaati.org

Anna Kotsovos National Insurance Crime Bureau, Des Plaines, Illinois

North Central Regional Chapter President Skip Copeland Indianapolis Metro P.D., Indianapolis, IN

Tel: 847-544-7162 akotsovos@iaati.org

Tel: 317-327-2685 scopeland@iaati.org

Director of Marketing Brad Anderson Erie Insurance bradanderson@iaati.org

IAATI BUSINESS POP QUIZ

T H I S I S S U E’S Q U E S T I O N : TRUE OR FALSE:

Submitted by Past Pres. Denny Roske

The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT 350 was named after Carol Shelby, the secretary to the then CEO of Ford Motor Co. Chuck Cantwell. The answer can be found in 1965 GT 350 Hidden Away For 27 Years by Randy Richardson further in this issue.

AWARDS IAATI Award of Merit To honor a person, group, department or company for outstanding contribution in the area of vehicle theft investigation or prevention. IAATI Insurance Investigator of the Year To recognize and honor an insurance professional for outstanding contribution in vehicle theft or insurance fraud investigation Raymond H. Dreher Memorial Award To IAATI members who have distinguished themselves by service to the association.

IAATI AWARD YOUR Auto Theft Team Here for outstanding contribution to vehicle theft prevention or investigation From the Members of IAATI

NICB Award of Excellence To recognize any law enforcement person(s), unit or department, who have distinguished themselves in area of vehicle theft investigations, making a significant impact involving dismantlement and prosecution of a vehicle theft ring or chop shop. IAATI Heavy Equipment Award To honor any person who has in some way distinguished themselves in the field of off-road (farm and construction) equipment investigation / recovery.

IAATI Component Parts Markings Award To honor any person or unit who has in some way distinguished themselves in vehicle theft investigations where VIN labels or micro-dot technology played a significant part of the success of the investigation. 2

2018 Auto Theft Training Seminars

Training is one of the most important areas that we as auto theft investigators need to continually seek out. With the trends in auto theft changing on a daily basis, we need to stay on top of these new developments that can assist us with prevention, identification, investigation, and prosecution. If you know of any other auto theft courses that are being offered, please contact me at: iaatidenny@aol.com IAATI will also post course announcements on our web site & the IAATI e-news during the year. Always check the IAATI web site for training information at: iaati.org The following auto theft training courses are being offered at this time:

NATIONAL INSURANCE CRIME BUREAU When: Continuous Where: www.NICBTraining.org Info: (NICB) on line training web site, click on: courses AUSTRALASIAN BRANCH SEMINAR When: Mar. 19th – 21st Where: Brisbane, Australia Info: Mark Pollard, admin@fireinvestigation.com.au COLORADO AUTO THEFT INVES. When: April 15th – 19th Where: Durango, Colorado Info: Joni Tangeman, JTangeman@arapahoegov.com NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CHAPTER When: April 30th – May 3rd Where: Appleton, Wisconsin Info: Cheryl Zofkie, Czofkie@nicb.org NICB SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS When: May 7th – 10th Where: St. Louis, Missouri Info: Katie Zofkie, KZofkie@nicb.org FLORIDA AUTO THEFT INTELLIGENCE UNIT When: May 8th – 9th Where: Jacksonville, Florida Info: Sheri Taynor, secretary@seiaati.org

TRAINING continued on page 21 THE APB

APB

THE

Editor Stephen E. Gobby apb@iaati.org Managing Editor Phil J. Crepeau pcrepeau@iaati.org Editors Emeriti James J. Spanel W.E. Rutledge Publisher Durham Publication, Inc. robert@durhampublication.com The Designer Jerry Greiner jerry@jerrygreiner.com The APB is the official publication of The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators and is published three times each year: in March, July and November. The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators is a certified NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION and is sanctioned as such by the United States Internal Revenue Service. The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators was first chartered in 1952. The APB is an educational and advisory aid to members of law enforcement, companies and organizations who are working to suppress the crime of auto theft and related offences, and to assist them in raising the level of expertise in auto theft investigation. Articles herein express the views and opinions of the authors, and are not necessarily representative of the views and opinions of The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators or the publisher of The APB. The APB, April/May 2018 is published by Durham Publication, Inc. (© 2018) and by The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE. No portion of this publication, neither ads nor text may be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed written permission of The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators or Durham Publication, Inc. (robert@durhampublication.com). APRIL/MAY 2018

Contents April/May 2018 • Volume 24, No. 1 FEATURES

CONTENTS IAATI President’s Message

From the Editor

IAATI Request for Information

Heavy Equipment Award Update By Rusty Russell, Award Chair

2017 IAATI Award of Merit Update

IAATI’s Award of Merit

Opportunity Knocks For You To Recognize Outstanding Efforts…

Basic Level Vehicle Identification and Investigation, Tomar, Portugal, Polytechnic institute By Jari Tiainen

European Branch Seminar | Czech Republic – Prague, October 2017 28 By Davy Borysiewicz Is There A Commercial Future For The Policing Of Vehicle Crime? By Dr. Ken German

Committee Seeks Nominations For 2018 Raymond W. Dreher Award 7

Cars, Dozers, Backhoes and Sky-Scooters 31 By Stephen Gobby

Committee Seeks Submissions for 2018 By Denny Roske

2017 OH IASIU Investigator of the Year award

A Fond Farewell - Until We Meet Again

Cada despedida es necesaria para llegar al reencuentro By Daniel Beck

Pittsburgh To Host Our 2018 IAATI Training Seminar

Sponsor Package options

Corpoate Partner Registration Form

Pittsburgh Seminar Training Schedule

Aussies In Belgium By Franky Dedeurwaerder A Visitor to Norway By Nils Kristian Brekke, Photos by Gerard van Warmerdam Winner of the European Branch Barry Hancock Award for 2017 By Vince Wise

LATAM - We Keep Growing In Brazil By Daniel Beck

Chasing Classic Cars By Mick O’Neill

1965 GT 350 HIDDEN AWAY FOR 27 YEARS 42 By Randy Richardson

European Branch Directors’ Award By Hans Kooijman

European Branch IAATI Award 2017 By Arne Knippel

AATIA’s Annual Christmas Luncheon a Huge Success 44 By Amanda O’Halloran and Ann Armstrong In Memoriam Mark Bennedick

A tribute to a Good Friend Mark Bennedick 47

DEPARTMENTS IAATI Business 6

North Central Regional Chapter News

IAATI Pittsburgh Seminar Coverage

Southern African Branch News

European Branch News

South Central Regional Chapter News

UK Branch News

LATAM Chapter News

Industry News

Western Regional Chapter News

Northeast Regional Chapter News

Australasian Branch News

46 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 2 0 1 7 / 2 0 1 8

I A AT I

P R E S I D E N T

J.D. HOUGH LOJACK, Arizona DPS (Retired)

F this APB publication comes out, my term as IAATI President irst I would like to thank all of you for the support. When

will be more than half over. The 66th Annual IAATI Seminar in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania will be taking place in just a few months. If you have not already made arrangements to attend, you better get busy before it’s too late. The Seminar Committee has been working to make this a successful and significant event. The opportunity to meet and network with other investigators from around the world only comes once a year. Take advantage of this opportunity and get registered. I would like to express my appreciation to the seminar committee for the long hours and work they have done. The IAATI committees have been busy and have completed numerous tasks this past year. Some of these committees have combined efforts and are working with other organization to meet similar goals. The committee chairpersons have been exceptional leaders and continue to make improvements. The NAEC Committee, IACP Committee and the ATPA Committee joined forces to develop a healthier working relationship with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the ports. We have requested contact information for IAATI members working in the areas of the ports. Dennis Frias will be collecting this contact information to share with CBP investigators needing assistance with investigations, vehicle identification, and stolen vehicle recoveries at the ports. I believe this teamwork will increase the recovery rate of stolen vehicles being exported. The Automobile Theft Prevention Authorities (ATPA) in Texas and Colorado are going through their Sunset Review. This is a long process and we all need to provide support to the ATPAs during these reviews. A letter of support from you to the Sunset Review committees in each of these states could be very beneficial to renewing the agency status. Please take the time to get involved with the ATPA in your region. The benefits, funding, and resources that the ATPAs provide are extremely important to all of us. One of the unique things about IAATI is the different issues that are presented to each Chapter and Branch. After attending the Southern African Branch Conference and seeing the vehicle theft issues and violence associated with auto theft, it makes me respect and admire the people who put their lives on the line daily to combat the criminal activity related to the vehicle theft in their Country. After attending the excellent European Branch Conference in Prague, it opened my eyes to all the 4

different regulations and laws that they have to deal with. Can you imagine dealing with legislative issues and laws from 33 different Countries? I was impressed how well the European Branch Executive Board worked together and met the needs of the members from so many different Countries. One way to stay abreast with current issues and trends around the world is to visit the IAATI website. Go to the “News” tab to find numerous articles submitted by IAATI members. Here is an example of some of the recent articles posted on the IAATI website: • Google Street View used to scan for vehicles by make, model and year • Victoria car theft crackdown: GPS trackers tipped to be in 100,000 vehicles in 18 months • Car theft ‘relay’ devices seized in Birmingham • Met Police launch Operation Endeavour to combat keyless vehicle theft • Vehicle thefts spike in Essex County • LISTEN: Remote jamming detector combats crime in Brooklyn, South Africa • Range Rovers, speed boats among $1.33M in stolen property seized by Calgary police • International vehicle theft and trafficking ring busted in Spain The IAATI website also has a complete list of IAATI Awards with a description of the award and submission requirements and deadlines. A great way to recognize a person, squad or unit for the outstanding work they have done, is by submitting an award nomination. If you have further questions about any of the awards, please contact the Committee Chairman for that award. I look forward to the coming months and the opportunity to attend several Chapter and Branch seminars that are in the works. Check out the listed conferences and seminars in your area. These Chapters/Branches need your support and you will acquire valuable information and acquaintances for future reference. If you have an auto theft investigator association in your area, I highly recommend that you attend their regularly scheduled meetings. There is no better place to meet people and share information. Thank you all again for the work you do. Be safe and I’ll see you in Pittsburgh. n THE APB

FROM THE EDITOR T H E

A P B

E D I T O R

STEPHEN GOBBY APB@IAATI.ORG

WELCOME, DEAR READER, TO THE APRIL/MAY 2018 EDITION OF THE APB. SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT IAATI

Iits membership. I think that is an obvious claim. I believe that

t would be an understatement to say that IAATI’s strength is in

claim holds true for any organization or association. Without membership, we do not exist. It is our lifeblood. And IAATI’s chapters and branches are an extension of that membership and are an integral part of our organization. All that is obvious. But is there anything about IAATI’s membership that sets it apart from others? Is there something special about IAATI? I invite you to read “A Visitor to Norway” by European Branch’s Nils Kristian Brekke. The visitor in question was Australasian Branch’s David West. Once you’ve read that, please read “Aussies in Belgium” by Franky John O’Byrne Dedeurwaeder. Members of IAATI are often, of course, very much involved within their own chapter/branch, but many of our members travel and get involved and meet with members of other chapter/branches. The two above examples are not unique. Flipping through the pages of past APBs, you will see other such stories. Each year, when we meet at our annual training seminar, members will have reached out to other members from across the globe for business and for pleasure. Some members have established friendships with members and families from other continents and many have formed professional contacts. Here’s another example: John O’Byrne is past president of both the Australasian Branch and IAATI. He is also one of our legal advisors. These days, he spends a lot of time in the UK and for that reason has become involved in the UK Branch. In fact, John, is a major force behind our 2019 seminar which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. Yes, there is something special about IAATI but I’m not sure what it is. Is it a special kinship? Camaraderie? I have heard the word family used a lot referring that feeling among IAATI members. Latin American Branch President Daniel Beck often refers to his IAATI family. I don’t know what it is. Maybe you do. Any thoughts? If so, please send me an email so I can share your theory.

PITTSBURGH SEMINAR ere we are again. It’s time to get ready for our annual conference. All the information you need to register for this our 66th training seminar in Pittsburgh is all right here in this issue. Have your seen the photos? Does this place look pretty or what? How fortunate we are to travel to these great locations, venues where we will have access to the most up-to-date training and techniques on fighting vehicle crime, all from the top instructors in the field. Without a doubt, we’ll all come back with improved knowledge, more contacts and hopefully, a new friend or two. So don’t delay. Register on-line as quickly as possible.

IAATI AWARDS t’s also that time of the year when the chairs of the various awards committees are looking for nominations. What better way to recognize the efforts and successes of our colleagues, be they in law enforcement or in the insurance industry. A common myth is: “My team’s investigation was great but not up to an international award.” Wrong! Our committees are looking for all kinds of nominations. Size or scope of a project are not the only criteria. There are smaller agencies and investigators out there toiling in anonymity and doing an exemplary job. Why not nominate them. Another myth is that IAATI gets so many nominations. Wrong, again! Committees sometimes struggle at the May 1 deadline because they have not received any nominations. There are years in which some awards are not given out because we received no nominations. As Reg Phillips wrote in his write-up about the Award of Merit: “Just getting their efforts submitted can be a boost to the soul!” So, please look around your office and see if there is a worthy recipient. Then write it up and send it in. You’ll be happy you did.

IN THIS ISSUE We have so much good reading in this issue. We have thorough coverage of the European Branch seminar held in Prague, last October. We also have news from the Latin American, UK, Australasian, and Southern African Branches as well as the NCRC, SCRC, NERC and the WRC. Plenty of reading to keep you busy for a while. UNTIL NEXT TIME Our next issue comes out in July/August 2018 and the deadline for submissions is May 15. Until then . . . happy reading! Steve, apb@iaati.org

APRIL/MAY 2018

IAATI BUSINESS HEAVY EQUIPMENT AWARD UPDATE

IAATI REQUEST FOR CONTACT INFORMATION TO ASSIST WITH INVESTIGATIONS AND FOLLOW UP AT PORTS or many years, the working relationships with local Auto FTheft Units/Task Forces and the U.S. Customs and Border

Protection (CBP) has been inconsistent from port to port. IAATI is trying to build these relationships to better combat vehicle crimes and increase the recovery rate of stolen vehicles/vehicle parts that are being exported and imported. As we all know, vehicle crimes are connected to all forms of violent crimes, organized crime, terrorist activities and the list goes on. In a joint effort with the North American Export Committee, IACP Vehicle Crimes Committee and the ATPA Committee, there have been several conference calls to include representatives of CBP. The response from CPB has been very positive. We have a number of ideas in motion to enhance these relationships which would result in the recovery of stolen vehicles and link these stolen vehicles to other criminal activities. Two areas of immediate concern are the lack of automobile theft investigation training for CBP personnel at the ports and a list of current contacts with the Auto Theft Units and Task Forces that are adjacent to land and sea ports throughout the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world. We are working on a strategy to provide training across the country for CBP, thus opening up a better line of communication. We want to make available to the CBP, the most current list of resources available to them. Therefore, we are asking for current contact information for the auto theft units, task forces and detectives in these areas to include names, agencies, phone numbers and email addresses. Please include the Ports (land and sea) that are in your respective areas of jurisdiction. This information will be provided to the North American Export Committee to allow them to update the list they have at this time. Please email the requested information to Dennis Frias: dfrias@iaati.org Thank you for your assistance. J.D. Hough, IAATI 2017/2018 President

By Rusty Russell, Award Chair

On page 18 of the last issue of the APB (Nov/Dec 2017), we

saw the story of the 2017 Heavy Equipment Award Presentation in Cape Town. The winner, Nick Mayell, was unfortunately not able to attend the Cape Town seminar but he was at the European Branch seminar in Prague in October. Above is the photo of Nick Mayell receiving the IAATI Heavy Equipment Award from President J.D. Hough. n

2017 IAATI AWARD OF MERIT UPDATE

From left to right, the members of the Operation “Bow Tie Crew” task force: Inv. Random Pollack- Weld County, Colorado Sheriff; Inv. Dana Chavez - Colorado Attorney General Office; Det. Jennifer King-Sullivan- Broomfield County, Colorado PD; Analyst Gina Jeffries- CSP-ATTIC; Sgt Bill Johnson – Arvada, Colorado PD Editor’s Note: In our November 2017 issue of the APB, Award Chair Reg Phillips reported about the Award of Merit being given to a group of investigators from Colorado (USA). The honorees were not able to be in Cape Town so IAATI 1st VP Bill Johnson met with them upon his return home, to present them with their award. n THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

IAATI’S AWARD OF MERIT OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS FOR YOU TO RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING EFFORTS…

W This many times involves extra efforts, long e all work hard and take our tasks seriously.

work hours and skull sweat that seemingly is not seen or acknowledged. Here is your opportunity to take a moment to acknowledge that person’s extra effort and submit their name to IAATI’s Award of Merit! DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFER-

COMMITTEE SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR 2018

RAYMOND W. DREHER AWARD

COMMITTEE SEEKS SUBMISSIONS FOR 2018 Submitted by Past President Denny Roske

T IAATI’s most prestigious award and is presented in memory he Raymond W. Dreher Award was created in 1984 as

of the late Lt. Ray Dreher of the Missouri Highway Patrol, and IAATI’s 16th President. While not necessarily a yearly award, this is given as recognition for IAATI’s most active and dedicated members who have distinguished themselves by service to the Association. It is only awarded to those giving of themselves far and above what is expected and required of membership. There are no other requirements for the award, except hard work and dedication to IAATI with an international focus. Nominations may include, but not limited to: number of years as an IAATI member, if any board positions held, committees assigned to, International Seminars attended, instructor at Seminars, other contributions towards the betterment of IAATI. This year’s award, if one is awarded, will be presented at the Annual Seminar in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania August 5th – 10th

Submitted by Reg Phillips, Committee Chair

T or a person, group, department or company in recognition for

he IAATI Award of Merit was created in 1992 in order to hon-

outstanding contribution in the area of vehicle theft investigation or prevention. The award committee will accept submissions until May 1, 2018, which is the cut-off date. Submissions should include the person or agencies involved, time frame and details of the investigation, number of people charged or convicted, number of vehicles recovered, or program involved, and if applicable, photos. The Award of Merit will be presented at the Annual IAATI Training Seminar during the opening ceremonies on August 6th, 2018 in Pittsburgh, PA. If the intended recipient is not in attendance, the award shall be presented by a member of the board at a later date. While this award is intended to be an annual award, nothing requires such, nor precludes more than one year award if deemed appropriate. Submissions shall be sent to both John Abounader, jvabounader@iaati.org and Reg Phillips, award chair, rphillips@vrss.ca n APRIL/MAY 2018

Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 7

IAATI BUSINESS

66TH ANNUAL IAATI TRAINING SEMINAR

PITTSBURGH TO HOST OUR 2018 IAATI TRAINING SEMINAR • Classes and Workshops: • Monday 6th August 10:00 am - 5:00 pm • Tuesday 7th August 8:00am - 5:00 pm • Wednesday 8th 8:00 am - 5:00 pm • Thursday 9th August 8:00 am - 3:00 pm • Friday 10th August 8:30 am - 9:45 am • Seminar cocktail hour and banquet: Thursday 9th August 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

SEMINAR TRAINING PROGRAM

F Cape Town, South Africa, we return to North America for this

ollowing our successful 2017 international training seminar in

year’s conference. Our hosts are the Northeast Regional Chapter and the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority with the seminar being held at the Sheraton Pittsburgh, Station Square.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Investigators, intelligence analysts, forensic specialists, insurance investigators and claims specialists, registration and transport authority personnel, vehicle manufacturers, suppliers of security products, crime prevention practitioners etc.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND? • to listen to the leading experts from around the world; • to learn about the latest trends and modus operandi used by offenders in the USA and internationally and the latest successful strategies being used by organizations to combat vehicle crime – information you can bring back to your office and pass on to your colleagues; • to develop long-lasting networks with local, national and international colleagues who can assist you in your investigations; • to interact with sponsors and suppliers of latest products and tools that can be used to tackle and investigate vehicle crime; etc.

KEY DATES AND TIMES: (AT PITTSBURGH) • Onsite Registration opens: Sunday 5th August, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm • President’s Reception: Sunday 5th August at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm • Onsite Registration: Monday 6th August 7:00 am - 8:15 am • Opening Ceremony and Awards Presentations: Monday 6th August , 8:30 am 8

• Technology updates from manufacturers and resources for investigation • Finance Fraud / Identity theft schemes • Forensic examination of vehicles • Vehicle Arson • Specialty vehicle identification and investigation (heavy equipment, motorcycles, ATV/UTV and watercraft) • Terrorism 101 • Cargo theft investigations: the growing element of cargo theft and its implications • Classes for stronger teams both insurance and law enforcement • Hands-on displays and demonstrations of techniques used in the identification of vehicles and construction equipment • Meet new private sector partners dedicated to our cause

REGISTRATION: • Registration Fees • $US 300 if registered before July 16th, 2018 • $US325 if registered after July 16th, 2018 • Registrations include: • Delegate pack • One ticket to the President’s Reception and Seminar Banquet • All morning and afternoon breaks • 2 lunches • Additional tickets for partners to attend the President’s Reception and Annual Dinner can be purchased for $US 50. • To register please visit: www.iaati.org/events • Refunds will be issued up to July 16th, 2018. No refunds will be given after this date. However, a replacement delegate may be substituted if we are notified before the start of the seminar.

THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

• Download the mobile app and receive a 10% discount on your shuttle from Pittsburgh International Airport https:// www.supershuttle.com/locations/ pittsburghpit/

SPONSORSHIP AND EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITIES

VENUE INFORMATION

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

• Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square 300 W Station Square Dr, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States (+1) 412-261-1000 • IAATI Special Room Rate: $US130/ night (Excludes a 14% room tax) Please mention the code : “IAATI” to obtain this rate • Discounted room rate is available from Monday July 30th to Monday August 13th, 2018 based upon hotel availability. • July 25th, 2018 is the group rate cut-off date. The special IAATI rate cannot be guaranteed after this date.

• President’s Reception on Sunday 5th August • Annual Seminar Banquet Thursday 9th August • Hospitality Suite – Sunday through Thursday evenings

APRIL/MAY 2018

TRANSPORTATION • The Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square is approximately 20 miles from Pittsburgh International Airport and about 30-50 mins by car depending on the time of day.

• The seminar is expected to attract between 300 – 400 delegates from all around the world in what is the peak industry event each year for those involved in the prevention, detection and investigation of auto related crime. It’s a great opportunity for companies to show their support for IAATI and to promote their business to our delegates and their employers. There will be an exhibition area from Monday – Thursday where delegates can meet and interact with exhibitors. All sponsors and exhibitors will be given an opportunity to present in a plenary session on Monday August 6th. • IAATI has a range of sponsorship and exhibitor packages to suit all budgets and needs. • For further information about how to become a sponsor or exhibitor in Pittsburgh, please contact our Sponsorship Director, Brad Anderson at bradanderson@iaati.org

NEED MORE INFORMATION? For the latest seminar information please visit: https://www.neiaati.com/ or contact: • Training classes & workshops: Denny Goodhart Denny_Goodhart@cinfin.com • Mark Hoy MHoy@dps.ohio.gov • Accommodation issues: Bonny Rupert undrst@sbcglobal.net • General enquiries: John Paskan JPaskan@nicb.org

IAATI BUSINESS

MORE ABOUT PITTSBURGH Population: Metro population: Temperature: Electricity:

303,625 (2016) 2,360,867 (US: 22nd) High: 81 °F / 27 °C Low: 61 °F / 16 °C 110 Volts and 60 Hz Standard electric plugs, have two flat blades. The plugs on some newer appliances have a third round grounding pin. You may need an adaptor to fit the US electrical receptacles. You may also need a converter to change the voltage from 110 volts to 220 volts.

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION OF PITTSBURGH SOURCED FROM WIKIPEDIA.ORG “Pittsburgh is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and is the county seat of Allegheny County. As of 2017, a total population of 305,704 lives within the city limits, making it the 63rd-largest city in the U.S. The metropolitan population of 2,353,045 is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, the second-largest in Pennsylvania (behind Philadelphia), and the 26th-largest in the U.S. Located at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers, Pittsburgh is known as both “the Steel City” for its more than 300 steel-related businesses, and as the “City of Bridges” for its 446 bridges. The city features 30 skyscrapers, two inclined railways, a pre-revolutionary fortification and the Point State Park at the confluence of the rivers. The city developed as a vital link of the Atlantic coast and Midwest, as the mineral-rich Allegheny Mountains made the area coveted by the French and British empires, Virginians, Whiskey Rebels, and Civil War raiders. Aside from steel, Pittsburgh has led in manufacturing of aluminum, glass, shipbuilding, petroleum, foods, sports, transportation, computing, autos, and electronics. For part of the 20th century, Pittsburgh was behind only New York and Chicago in corporate headquarters employment; it had the most U.S. stockholders per capita. America’s 1980s deindustrialization laid off area blue-collar workers and thousands of downtown white-collar workers when the longtime Pittsburgh-based world headquarters moved out. This heritage left the area with renowned museums, medical centers, parks, research centers, libraries, a diverse cultural district and the most bars per capita in the U.S. Today, Google, Apple, Bosch, Facebook, Uber, Nokia, Autodesk, and IBM are among 1,600 technology firms generating $20.7 billion in annual Pittsburgh payrolls. The area has served as the long-time federal agency headquarters for cyber defense, software engineering, robotics, energy research and the nuclear navy. The area is home to 68 colleges and universities, including research and development leaders Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. The nation’s eighth-largest bank, eight Fortune 500 companies, and six of the top 300 U.S. law firms make their global headquarters in the Pittsburgh area, while RAND, BNY Mellon, Nova, FedEx, Bayer and NIOSH have regional bases that helped Pittsburgh become the sixth-best area for U.S. job growth. In 2015, Pittsburgh was listed among the “eleven most livable cities in the world”; The Economist’s Global Liveability Ranking placed Pittsburgh as the first- or second-most livable city in the United States in 2005, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014. The region is a hub for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, sustainable energy, and energy extraction. For more information about what to do in Pittsburgh visit: https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/ 10

THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

Clockwise from top: Pittsburgh skyline; Carnegie Mellon University; PNC Park; Duquesne Incline; Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh APRIL/MAY 2018

IAATI BUSINESS

DEAR SPONSORS AND VENDORS The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) will be conducting our 66th annual training seminar from August 5th -10th, 2018. As you probably know, this year’s venue is at the Sheraton Hotel, Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. IAATI, our Northeast Chapter (NERC) and the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA) are hosting the seminar, which will commence with the President’s reception on Sunday evening, August 5th, 2018. IAATI’s current roster consists of approximately 3,604 members who represent over 71 different countries. Our membership is tasked with the investigation of auto-related crimes. While we are grateful for our long-time committed sponsors, we continue to seek and welcome those individuals or organizations that are interested in becoming a seminar sponsor, a vendor at the seminar, or involved as a corporate partner. We recognize the value and importance of public and private collaboration. As such, it is imperative that we not only continue to cultivate but also forge lasting partnerships to support our organization and its training efforts. Committed sponsors are essential in our quest to continually provide the high-quality training that ultimately benefits the public and private sectors, as well as the communities that we all represent and serve. If interested in becoming an IAATI sponsor or vendor, please refer to the attached sponsorship levels, package options and registration form for additional details. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, the Seminar Committee and Sponsorship Committee, I would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to those sponsors who have already committed to assisting for this year’s seminar. Sincerely, Brad Anderson, IAATI, 4th Vice President and Sponsor Director bradanderson@iaati.org 717-923-0134 (Office) 717-875-0734 (Cell)

THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

SPONSOR PACKAGE OPTIONS Package Options: Diamond

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Bronze

$7,500

$5,000

$3,500

$2,500

$750.00

12 months

8 months

6 months

3 months

N/A

Inclusion of company profile in Auto Theft Today

Opportunity to have any company specific training material (videos, publications, PowerPoint presentations, reference guides, links to website tools, etc.) included in the Member’s only area of the IAATI file library.

Package Costs ($US) General Advertising/Promotional Benefits Use of IAATI Corporate Partner Logo

One email blast to the entire membership sent by IAATI on your behalf Advertising on IAATI website (includes placement of logo and link to website and link to your company website)

Annual International Training Seminar Benefits Seminar Banquet Sponsor

Break Sponsor

Complimentary tickets to the Annual Training Seminar

Complimentary tickets to the President’s Reception

Complimentary tickets to the Seminar Banquet Dinner

ü Double booth

✓

Electricity to exhibitor booth

✓

Signage

✓

Wi-fi

✓

Exhibitor Booth 8 x 10

Logo and contact information published in seminar handbook Inclusion of company logo and links to your website in the IAATI Mobile Seminar App Entry to nightly networking Hospitality events

ü ü ü

Opportunity to present to the delegates during the ‘Sponsors Presentations’ session Opportunity to include promotional material in Seminar delegates registration packs

ü ü ü

Please visit www.iaati.org for Corporate Sponsor

APRIL/MAY 2018

IAATI BUSINESS

Corporate Registration Form CORPOATE PARTNERPartner REGISTRATION FORM

To register for the IAATI Corporate Partner Program please complete this form and return it with payment to: John Abounader Executive Director, International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) PO Box 223 Clinton, NEW YORK 13323 via Email: jvabounader@iaati.org

or via Fax: 315-883-1310

Company Name:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Contact’s Title…………………………….... First Name:……………….……………..………………...………………… Contact’s Last Name: ………………..……………………………………………………………………………………….. Contact’s Email address…………………..…………………………………………………………………………………. Contact’s Phone number:………………………………………………………………..…………………………………… Company Postal Address: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Level of Corporate Partnership (please check one box) Diamond $7,500 ☐ Platinum $5,000 � Gold $3,500 � Silver $2,500 �

Bronze �

Payment options include check, money order or credit card (Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express). All payments must be in U.S. Funds. Type of Credit card: Visa

Master Card Discover American Express

Card Holders Name: ……………………………………………………………………...………………………………….. Credit Card Number: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Expiry date: …………………………………………………….. ……………. Security Code: ...…...………….……..…. Signature: …………………………………………………………………..….. Amount: $………...……..... (US Dollars)

Notes: Corporate partners will be responsible for supplying high quality versions of any company logos, advertisements or artwork and any company urls they wish the logos to link to, by the requested deadlines. Where possible, it is recommended that companies provide multiple versions of their company logos such as transparent versions, reversed versions so it may be used on a range of different backgrounds.

THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

PITTSBURGH SEMINAR TRAINING SCHEDULE

D R A F T

Saturday August 4, 2018 LOCATION TBD

0900-1700

IAATI Board Meeting LOCATION TBD

0900-1700

NERC-IAATI Conference Prep

Sunday August 5, 2018 LOCATION TBD

0900-1300

Vendor Setup

LOCATION TBD

1300-1700

Registration Opens PRESIDENTS RECEPTION - LOCATION TBD HOSPITALITY - LOCATION TBD

1700-2000 2000-2300 0800-0945

0945-1000 1000-1145

Monday August 6, 2018 MAIN HALL

Opening Remarks and Ceremonies (Colors and National Anthem) SPEAKER 1 : FRANK PAWLAWSKI - PENNSYLVANIA ATPA SPEAKER 2 : REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE SPEAKER 3 : REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE PITTSBUFGH POLICE DEPARTMENT BREAK MAIN HALL

Internation Panel: North American Chapters Latin American Branch European Branch UK Branch Austrailian Branch South African Branch

1145-1300 1300-1445

Lunch (Courtesy of the 2018 Seminar Committee)

1445-1500 1500-1645

BREAK

LOCATION TBD

Meet our Sponsors & Vendors MAIN HALL

Group Class #1: Joe Kenda - Retired Coloroddo Springs Police Department Lt. Detective & Star of Homicide Hunter EVENING EVENT - LOCATION TBD

1700-2030 BREAKOUT 1 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 2 (Room TBA) Motorcycle Identification & Investigation

BREAKOUT 3 (Room TBA) Intro to Forensics & Processing

George Baker III George Baker III

Todd Blair NICB

Brian Kohlhepp Ross Towship (PA) Police

Ray Torres & Bill Shiver Pennsylvania State Police & CSX Police

BREAKOUT 5 (Room TBA) The Pen is Mightier than the Slampull

BREAKOUT 6 (Room TBA) ATV Identification & Investigation

BREAKOUT 7 (Room TBA)

CARGO TRACK

DEFENDER OR OFFENDER?: Identifying and Assessing the Original Land Rover

Cargo Outdoor Live Demonstrations

Kelly Duran Ally

Todd Blair NICB

William Hendrick Attorney & Legal Consultant

Ray Torres & Bill Shiver Pennsylvania State Police & CSX Police

BREAKOUT 11 (Room TBA)

CARGO TRACK

0800-0945

Global Security & GM

0945-1000 1000-1145

1145-1300 1300-1445

1445-1500 1500-1700

BREAK

CARGO TRACK Cargo Classroom

Lunch (Courtesy of the 2018 Seminar Committee)

Terrorism 101- A basic introduction to the concept, definitions and philosophy of Terrorism

BREAKOUT 9 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 10 (Room TBA) Intro to Forensics & Processing

Payment Card Money Laundering The Currency of Criminals

Cargo Classroom

Ed Bridgeman Universitiy of Cincinnati

Brian Kohlhepp Ross Towship (PA) Police

T.Jack Williams ERAD Group

Ray Torres & Bill Shiver Pennsylvania State Police & CSX Police

BREAKOUT 9 (Room TBA) Auto Theft & Terrorism George Grossenbaugh & Tommy Burke

BREAKOUT 10 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 11 (Room TBA)

CARGO TRACK

Dark Web Investigations

DEFENDER OR OFFENDER?: Identifying and Assessing the Original Land Rover

Cargo Outdoor Live Demonstrations

Joe Stephenson Hagerty Insurance

William Hendrick Attorney & Legal Consultant EVENING EVENT - LOCATION TBD

Ray Torres & Bill Shiver Pennsylvania State Police & CSX Police

BREAK

Cininnati Insurance & NYPD

1700-2030

Tuesday August 7, 2018

Continued on page 45 APRIL/MAY 2018

IAATI BUSINESS

How to nominate

THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

IAATI’s Insurance Investigator of the Year Award Nominations are now open for IAATI’s International Insurance Investigator of the Year Award. You are invited to nominate any individual, team or company, involved in undertaking an insurance industry investigation that you consider worthy of recognition. This includes self employed investigators working under instruction to an insurer.

This guide outlines the criteria required for submission, the judging process and also includes tips for writing an award-winning submission. Submissions close on 1st May 2018. All nominations should be forwarded to: Mark Pollard, Chair, 2018 Insurance Investigator of the Year Award , email: mpollard@iaati.org Winners will be announced at IAATI’s 66th Annual International Training Seminar at the Pittsburgh Sheraton Hotel , Pennsylvania , USA, 5 - 10 August, 2018. If you have any queries regarding the Awards, please contact me via mpollard@iaati.org I look forward to receiving your submissions and seeing you at the 2018 International Training Seminar in Pittsburgh. And, of course, best of luck. Sincerely, Mark Pollard 2018 Chair, IAATI Insurance Investigation of the Year Award

APRIL/MAY 2018

Continued on next page

IAATI BUSINESS

Why take part in the Awards? We all know some one who has gone above an beyond the norm to uncover the truth and complete an investigation. However in today’s busy world the recognition they deserve often doesn’t occur as we all immediately move on to the next case. These awards allow individuals, colleagues, employers the opportunity to acknowledge excellence. By highlighting examples of excellence we can all learn from their experiences and thereby benefit.

Who can enter? Entries are invited from organisations, teams or individuals and may be by a third party or self nomination. You do not need to be an member of IAATI to nominate, and the person(s) being nominated do not need to be a member of IAATI. At least some stage of the investigation you are nominating them for must have occurred after 1st May 2015.

Why are self nominations allowed? This is an international award and differences in culture vary around the world. In some countries award nominations tend to be submitted only by senior company managers. In other cultures workmates are willing to nominate a colleague or an individual may feel comfortable nominating themselves. In the case of a sole trader working as a private investigator, the ability to self nominate may be their only opportunity to nominate. Therefore we are of the view that self nomination is neutral. This makes the system as fair as possible and allows everyone from around the world, or from companies of any size to get the chance to be recognised.

Judging Criteria Nominations will be judged on the information provided in the submission. Award submissions should be made by providing a nomination statement and supporting evidence to demonstrate why the nominee is a worthy winner The Awards will be decided by a panel of industry judges who are bound by confidentiality agreements and are excluded from participating where a conflict of interest may be present. Judges will independently score each nomination out of 25 by allocating a score for each of the criteria. The winner will be determined by the nomination that receives the highest combined score from all judges. The criteria to be used to assess the nominations are:  Demonstration of investigative skills (10 points)  Application of strategy and investigative planning (10 points)  Overall impression (5 points)

THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

Submitting your nomination Please see the ‘Guide to Writing Your Nomination’ on the following page for more information about what to include in your submission. Your your nomination statement along with an any supporting material should be emailed to: Mark Pollard, Chair, 2018 Insurance Industry Award Investigation of the Year mpollard@iaati.org Nominations close 1st May 2018.

Terms and Conditions: 

When submitting your nomination you agree that the information you have provided is accurate and that you are correctly attributing the effort of the individual (s) involved in the investigation.



Your entry may also involve submitting sensitive information. Such sensitive information should be marked up as ‘strictly in confidence’. We will undertake to respect all such notification.



It is your responsibility to ensure you have the necessary permissions and consent to provide us with sensitive information in your nomination.



You agree to abide by the decision of the Judges’ which shall be final and binding.



We reserve the right not to award a winner if no nomination are deemed worthy.



Winners agree to providing a short summary of their investigation for publication by IAATI. Nominations must be received by 11.59 pm, 1st May 2018, New York Time

APRIL/MAY 2018

Continued on next page

IAATI BUSINESS

Guide to Writing Your Nomination Award submissions should be made by providing a nomination statement and supporting evidence to demonstrate why the nominee is a worthy winner in their eligible category. Here are some tips in putting together your submission. 1. Read the award description carefully and identify what criteria the judges will be using to score the nominations. Make sure you clearly demonstrate how the nominated investigation meets these criteria. 2. Provide a clear and succinct Nomination Statement about the investigation you are nominating. The maximum length for the nomination statement is four pages. This is the maximum size, it does not have to be this long, so don’t add unnecessary details just to fill pages. 3. In addition to your Nomination Statement you may include supporting evidence, such as photos, charts, graphs, news clippings, website references, etc. The judges like to have relevant supporting material but the most important point to focus on when preparing any background material and supporting evidence is quality and relevance, not quantity. In fairness to all nominees, the total nomination submission must be less than 5 MB in size and a maximum of 4 pages long. The Nomination Statement, should be able to stand on its own from the supporting material, and fully explain the reasons for the nomination. 4. Structure your nomination. The nomination statement and evidence should first "wet the appetite" and then "tell a story" that backs this up. For example, what were the results of your investigation? What difficulties did you have to overcome to get those results? What innovative techniques or strategies did you use to overcome these difficulties. Did the investigation involve cooperation with multiple organisations? 5. In nominations should highlight factors such as: the use of innovative methodologies, application of best practice investigation techniques; the complexity of the investigation; the investigator’s perseverance and diligence; any obstacles they had to overcome; if they had to work with and involve other agencies or organisations; etc. The number of vehicles recovered or the number of offenders apprehended is not the determining factor. Small single vehicle investigations can be just as worthy of an award as larger investigations. Likewise investigations that find in favour of a policy holder are equally worthy as those that find in favour of the insurer. 6. Sub-sections. Think about whether you should break up your submission into sections to really make your point, and to make it easier for the judges to read and understand. Don’t be afraid of white space. 7. Sell you nomination. Every year we receive a number of very worthy submissions, so you need to spell it out for the judges why your nomination deserves to win. What makes your nomination stand out as an excellent example in it’s category? 8. Finally, don’t hesitate, get your nomination in now.

THE APB

IAATI PRESIDENT - J.D. HOUGH

TRAINING from LATIN page 2AMERICA BRANCH When: June TBA Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina Info: Laura Brizuela, analaubrizuela@gmail.com UK VEHICLE CRIME CONFERENCE When: June 6th – 7th Where: Loughborough, UK Info: John O’Byrne, jobyrne@iaati.org SOUTH EAST REGIONAL CHAPTER When: June 10th – 14th Where: Norfolk, Virginia Info: Nate McGanty, nmcganty@gmail.com KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE SYMPOSIUM When: July 17th – 19th Where: TBA, Malaysia Info: Alex Lyle, alex.bigal.lye@gmail.com 66TH INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR & NORTH EAST REGIONAL CHAPTER When: Aug. 5th – 10th Where: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Info: Don Cavallo, dcavallo@lojack.com EUROPEAN BRANCH When: Oct. 3rd – 5th Where: Vilnius, Lithuania Info: Arne Knippel, akn@forsikringogpension.dk SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CHAPTER When: Oct. 23rd – 26th Where: Galveston, Texas Info: Bill Skinner, BSkinner@lojack.com SOUTH AFRICAN BRANCH When: Oct. 30th – Nov. 2nd Where: Weesgerus Holiday Resort Modimole Limpopo, South Africa Info: Motsamai Mollo, mmollo@ford.com FUTURE INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS 2019 - 67TH SEMINAR: When: Sept. 16th – 20th Where: New Glasgow Scotland Info: John O’Byrne, john@hodgsonlawyers.com.au 2020 - 68TH SEMINAR Where: Chicago, Illinois, USA APRIL/MAY 2018

Passages James Francis Carlowe Father of WRC’s Carmen Carlowe Swanson On October 3, 2017 In Cave Creek, Arizona Mark Bennedick Past President Australasian Branch IAATI Director On October 19, 2017 (Please see more about Mark further in this issue) Augustin Patelli Executive Director, LatAm Branch On November 20, 2017 (Please see more about Augustin further in this issue) Sheila (Devaney) Thompson Mother of NERC Past President DJ Thompson On January 4, 2018 In Middletown, Connecticut Terrence Kelly Sr. Father of NERC’s Terry Kelly Jr. On January 5, 2018 In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Clifford Smith Of TAVTI/SCRC, Texas DPS, LoJack On January 23, 2018 In Conroe, Texas 21

EUROPEAN BRANCH NEWS

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear Members of IAATI,

T seminar in Prague, Czech Republic, from October 25-27 he IAATI European Branch organized its yearly training

2017. Branch President Jari Tiainen had fulfilled his 2-year term and now I, Arne Knippel, had the honor and privilege to follow as new branch president. It is not an easy task to succeed Jari Tiainen. I am 63 years old, was born in Copenhagen and raised in Lyngby north of Copenhagen, Denmark. After high school I joined the armed forces and later studied Slavonic languages, history and culture at the University of Copenhagen. After finishing my studies I worked for 15 years at the Ministry of Defense. In 1994 I started at Insurance & Pension Denmark where I became responsible for the repatriation of stolen Danish vehicles, primarily from Eastern Europe. Thus the name “Eastoffice” of my office became known among the Danish insurance companies. During the last 14-18 years we have gradually expanded our activities and are now working all over the world. I am Head of “Eastoffice” which, while a bit misleading, has still kept its name. In 1997 I participated in my first IAATI seminar in Lausanne, Switzerland, and quickly felt the close IAATI “family feeling” among participants fighting for the same cause. I appreciated the opportunity to operate and work with specialists across professional sectors which is a unique way of doing things in a world of rigid categories and strict rules. Ten years ago I became member of the European board and have for the last several years been head of the seminar committee. It is very interesting work. Of course, it is extra work but at the same time it gives you a lot of feeling for what is important

AUSSIES IN BELGIUM

By Franky Dedeurwaerder EB Branch Treasurer

ome months ago I received an email from an Australian IAATI member who wanted to visit Belgium with his wife on a holiday-trip throughout Europe. The purpose of his visit to Belgium was to attend the Centenary of the Battle of Polygon Wood in Passchendaele. This battle, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, took place on 26th September 1917 and the Australian forces, already involved in the fight on the Menin Road on September 20, considered the attack a great success although more than 5000 men were killed or wounded. Back to our member David West, Police intelligence officer in Sidney. He and his wife arrived Brussels Monday morning 25th. I picked them up at Brussels airport and drove them towards a hotel in Ghent, my birth town 10 km from my home. After an hour and a cup of coffee, we were ready to visit Ghent. This medieval town had a lot off surprises for our foreign visitors and I hope they enjoyed it.

and what is not so important. Besides, working with different approaches to specific problems is always a challenge. I deeply believe that fighting vehicle crime is a multifaceted effort. Almost every day you experience new scams, new trends and new methods of stealing vehicles. Fighting this as a team gives you much more opportunities and success at the end of the day. Luckily I am supported by a strong board and on behalf of my colleagues in the board and myself, I wish you all the best of success in your daily life and activities. Please think of IAATI if you get stuck in the world of vehicle crime and need some good advice! n Very best regards Arne Knippel, IAATI EB President I have worked for the Danish Insurance Association for 23 years, have been with IAATI around 20 years and before that I worked for 15 years for the Ministry of Defense. This, of course, was during the so called “cold war” which ended at the end of the eighties. During that dark period, we were not allowed to visit Eastern Europe – or Warsaw pact countries as they were called them Arne Knippel and people from the other side of the “iron curtain” were not allowed to visit us. Luckily, this has all changed dramatically to the benefit of the Europeans – if we understand how to handle it all in a wise way. Let us be optimists, it usually is a good starting point! But then we had to go sleep early because of the morning ceremony at Passchendaele. At two o’clock we drove an hour towards Zonnebeke to get on the bus towards the Polygon Wood and the cemetery where a whole program waited for us and about 1500 other people, mostly from Australia. There were live musical performances, stories and letters from soldiers who took part in this historic battle. It was an impressive presentation organized by the Australian government, military and civil remembrance groups. After this quiet chilly early morning (4 am to around 7 am) we took a breakfast and drove to Tyne Cot cemetery, one of the greatest in the area. 11,956 soldiers were buried here and on the walls around the cemetery, 34,957 names of missing soldiers are engraved. At noon we said goodbye to each other as they wanted to visit Ypres and see the ceremony at Menin Gate in the evening after a short rest at their hotel. However, it wasn’t a long goodbye as David was coming to our IAATI EB seminar in Prague in October. n THE APB

BRANCH PRESIDENT - ARNE KNIPPEL

A VISITOR TO NORWAY By N ils Kristian Brekke, Photos by Gerard van Warmerdam

Ifrom an IAATI member in Australia.

n February 2017, I received an email

It was David West who is the Intelligence Manager of the New South Wales Police Property Crime Squad based in Sydney NSW. Before that, he worked the last three years with Motor Vehicle thefts. David and his wife Kathie, were going to visit Europe in September and he wanted

Dave West (left) and Nils Kristian Brekke (right)

APRIL/MAY 2018

the opportunity to meet with other IAATI members to discuss mutual interests. They arrived Oslo around the September 15. David wanted the opportunity to meet with people involved in dealing with or managing motor vehicle crime. He was sure that despite the long distances between Australia and Europe, we shared similar issues in dealing with motor vehicle crime. On September 16, we had a meeting at my office in Oslo where David gave a presentation for two hours for 12 IAATI members. He shared his experiences with the European colleagues about the work with National Motor Vehicle Theft reduction Council (NMVTRC) and in particular the Comprehensive Auto Theft Research Systems (CARS). After the presentation, we had a walk in the city of Oslo before we had dinner in the evening. He had the opportunity to taste our local famous Aquavit, a liquor that is shipped from Norway to Australia and back before you can drink it. David and his wife left Oslo Monday, September 18 by train across the mountains to Bergen. On the way, they visited

David West having a presentation at the IAATI EB 2017 in Prague Flaam, before taking the Hurtigruten ship to Tromso. After Tromso they left for Brussels, where they were great by Franky Dedeurwaerder (please Franky’s article in this issue). David West came back to Europe in October and attended the IAATI EB Seminar in Prague. n

EUROPEAN BRANCH NEWS

TONY BASS:

WINNER OF THE EUROPEAN BRANCH BARRY HANCOCK AWARD FOR 2017 By Vince Wise, European Branch Vice President

T unit police officer, very experi-

ony Bass Is a retired stolen vehicle

deal with the machines in any way he deemed fit. Even though it was known enced in vehicle examination. When he was only a front man for a much he retired, he decided to continue with larger organized crime group. this work and started as a sole trader to Tony was advised that the only poshelp victims and insurance companies sible course of action remaining was to alike. file for a civil action with each owner In July 2010, The UK Police wanted as a separate hearing with a view to to examine 17 machines in Cyprus obtaining financial compensation from but they had been refused entry due the defendant to the victims of crime to political issues at the time. With his (the owners and their insurance compapolice background, Tony Bass was nies). He commenced a civil action asked if he would be prepared to comin the TRNC and for each insurance plete this task at his own expense company there was a separate hearing. On August 10, 2010 he travelled Since 2010 he has travelled to TRNC to Larnaca, in north Cyprus. He first 7 times to examine these machines and went to the port at Famagusta and met to give evidence in court. Requests to with customs officers where he was ask the UK Police to support his efforts granted permission to examine the 17 and attend court in Nicosia were construction and agricultural machines refused and he was left to resolve this located at various locations. All were issue himself both in his actions and confirmed to be stolen from the UK, also financially. To date, this has all Tony Bass (Left) Receiving The Barry Hancock total value in excess of £500,000. been at his own expense. Award from Nils Kristian Brekke This evidence heard in the UK Crown In April 2017 the Judge announced Court was instrumental in the conviction of two men who rethe decision finding in favour of the UK owners after almost 7 ceived custodial sentences. years of determined effort and not being prepared to give up on By the beginning of 2011 things changed in northern Cyprus. getting the machines back. The next best result was to win the The customs officers who had been in communication with UK civil action and to get financial compensation awarded to the Police and with Tony Bass, had been transferred. The head of owners. The final figure of compensation has not yet been fixed, Customs was also changed and the willingness to help evaporated but is expected to be near the full value of the machines. to a point where there were no vehicles being checked and the The spirit and tenacity and the dogmatic approach to this 7 communication had stopped. year enquiry, with a complete unwillingness to accept matters In January 2012, Customs in northern Cyprus had allowed driven by procedure and politics, shows the true grit of what the defendant to pay the import duty for all the machines which IAATI stands for—to overcome all obstacles while showing meant that he could register them locally and sell them to third respect and compliance to individual countries’ laws, all achievparties. As they could not charge the defendant and since there ing the right result. was not an injunction preventing Customs from handing the Our sincere congratulations to Tony Bass of Forensic Vehicle machines to the defendant, Customs allowed the defendant to Solutions for the Barry Hancock Award for 2017. n 24

THE APB

BRANCH PRESIDENT - ARNE KNIPPEL

THE 2017 EUROPEAN BRANCH DIRECTORS’ AWARD By Hans Kooijman, IAATI and European Branch Past President

L ner of the European Branch Directors’ et me start by telling you that the win-

Award is a man. What do we know about this man? Well, he is 64 years old. He has been a member of IAATI since 1999 but before he became member, he attended several IAATI meetings. He worked for law enforcement from 1974 until 1993. In 1993 he left law enforcement and started to work as an insurance investigator, which he still does. He is a specialist in vehicle identification. He is an instructor for insurance companies, police departments and police forensic departments.

The trainings he gives are about tactical and technical investigation concerning vehicle crime. As a specialist he is regularly asked by lawyers and courts to appear and show his knowledge and his experience concerning vehicle crime and car identification. He is Dutch. If you see him at one of our EB seminars you will recognize him because most of the times, he walks around with a camera and is the one who takes photos which you can find on our website or you see them in the APB or ATT. I think by now you know who the win-

Gerard van Warmerdam (left) receiving the 2017 EB Directors’ Award from Nils Kristian Brekke (right)

EUROPEAN BRANCH IAATI AWARD 2017 By Arne Knippel, President, European Branch

Ione of the IAATI awards. The reasons for t is a pleasure to present a candidate for

recognizing this candidate are the following: After school, this candidate began his professional life as car mechanic apprentice with Ford Motor Company. He passed the examination as the most talented car mechanic of that year. After working for some years as car mechanic, in 1987 he passed the entrance examination to the Police Academy and 3 years later graduated as police officer. He served in the police until 1999 when he was headhunted from the police to join one of the major insurance companies. When he left police it was a real loss and a blow for the force. From that time on he has been working as a highly respected vehicle investigator and specialist, first in one of the major companies, later in a medium-size company. Insurance companies treat their customers differently. Some are very pushy towards their customers, while others are extremely polite. This candidate works for a polite insurance company which might lead you to think that the effectiveness towards vehicle theft, crime and fraud would be weak and at the same time the tolerance APRIL/MAY 2018

high. Don’t count on that! A large number of criminals and fraudsters have regretted they committed vehicle crime against the company for which our candidate works. This candidate uses all legal possibilities to investigate cases in order to get at the truth. He is the most persistent investigator when it comes to vehicle crime. He combines technical knowledge and skills from his time as mechanic with the full scale of investigative skills he achieved during his years in the criminal and intelligence departments of the police. The candidate is extremely well-oriented in BMW cars. He is extremely careful when investigating cash-for-crash scams, staged accidents, burnt out vehicles, examining keys after car-thefts, examining track-and tracing systems. Much more than once has he been the initiator or de facto leader of complex vehicle investigations. One of his best characteristics is that he is always ready to assist when problems turn up. He runs advanced trainings at the police academy, where the students enjoy his in-depth knowledge about vehicle crime. He gives an important and

Gerard van Warmerdam (left) receiving the 2017 EB Directors’ Award from Nils Kristian Brekke (right) very professional contribution to the high standards of the police and at the same time plays an extremely important role as ambassador for the public/private corporation. He is a true and admirable example of the real IAATI spirit! We would like to congratulate Senior Investigator Lars Kold Jensen from the Danish insurance company “LB-Group” on his fine work over the years with this award. n 25

EUROPEAN BRANCH NEWS

PRESIDENTS IN

IAATI President JD Hough

Euro President Jari Tiainen

THE APB

BRANCH PRESIDENT - ARNE KNIPPEL

IAATI EUROPEAN BRANCH BASIC LEVEL VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION VEHICLE CRIMINALITY - BETWEEN THEFT AND FRAUD DATE OF TRAINING: 31ST OF MAY - 2ND OF JUNE 2017, TOMAR, PORTUGAL, POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE By Jari Tiainen, Euro Branch President

Acommittee) to consider the possibility of organizing a vehicle Portuguese IAATI EB member asked EB Board (training

crime training activity for the Portuguese Police in tandem with a conference for the private sector. After discussion it was decided to organize a training event and conference at Tomar, Portugal (Polytechnic institute). The training was organized by IAATI EB, private sector from Portugal and Portuguese Police with the co-operation of the National Bureau of Investigation Finland, Swedish Insurance Industry, Larmjänst Ab and ARIKI Group. Also experts from Spain, Italy and Portugal gave their excellent input to the events. The purpose of the training was to introduce good practices about how to counter vehicle crime and the criminals behind this phenomenon. The target group intended to take part in the training were field officers and investigators who deal with vehicle crime issues and international information exchange in their daily work. Training was implemented at two different events. The first part was a training session for the Police trainees (vehicle crime detection and investigation) and a second part was conference for the private sector (Enterprise Risk Meeting - Vehicle Criminality - Between Theft and Fraud). Topics at the course and conference were vehicle crime as phenomena (statistics, understanding of the vehicle crime nature today, modus operandi, etc.), basic training for the identification of vehicles (how to detect stolen vehicle), investigation part (in-

Trainers at event APRIL/MAY 2018

Trainees were very active during the days and they were very motivated about their training. ternational co-operation, agreements and channels), tool box (for example useful data bases and how to use those). Also further training opportunities through different international organizations were introduced (like Interpol training). Trainers conducting the course were IAATI EB members from Finland and Sweden. Also trainers from Spain, Portugal and Italy contributed with their presentations during the police training days and Conference. You can find detailed information about trainers here http://erm-tomar.com/en.html 44 police officers (15 from the National Guard and 29 from the National Police) participated in police training and over 40 persons from private sector took part to Conference. Feedback from the training showed that trainees and participants were happy concerning the agenda’s and topics. Also IAATI EB received correspondence from Portuguese thanking us for the successful training and they wished more similar events in the future. From the trainer’s side it was interesting to see how the Portuguese Police and private sector works and what kind of challenges they have in their daily work. A great thank you goes to the Tomar Polytech Institute. They offered good facilities to organize this training. On the behalf IAATI EB Training Committee I would thank you Portuguese Police and private sector, Larmtjänst Ab, Finnish Police, Spanish Police and private sector for their input concerning this event. More information can be obtained from IAATI EB Training Committee Chair Jari Tiainen or from website: http://erm-tomar.com/en.html n

EUROPEAN BRANCH NEWS EUROPEAN BRANCH SEMINAR | CZECH REPUBLIC â€“ PRAGUE, OCTOBER 2017 By Davy Borysiewicz, 2nd Vice President IAATI-EB

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

n October 2017 we organized our annual seminar in the beautiful city Prague, Czech Republic. We were hosted at Hotel Vienna House Diplomat in the European square close to the historical centre. Our local committee and representatives of Czech Police and Government gave us a very warm welcome and good insights into their national situation and challenges concerning vehicle crime.

MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN HARMONY WITH HUMAN CAPITAL AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES.

During several break-out sessions our participants had also interesting and dynamic discussions which gave good inspiration for taking care of our future needs. It is clear that in the new world of digitalization, globalization, robotics, connected cars, artificial intelligence, etc., all professionals will need new solutions and new methods and tools for investigation. In the coming years we as internationally connected professionals will THANK YOU DEAR IAATI MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS It was again a great success thanks to our strongly connected members, participants, speakers embrace those future challenges and and supporters sharing knowledge and enjoying the inspiring presentations and discussions. help each other to stay at the top of our game.

THE APB

BRANCH PRESIDENT - ARNE KNIPPEL

MILESTONE: THE EUROPEAN LICENCE PLATE GUIDE One of the milestones at the seminar was the presentation of the European Licence Plate Guide created by the Belgian Police Officer Mr Floris De Vogel. There are no secrets anymore concerning falsified licence plates and how to recognize them. The whole audience was excited about this valuable work, a piece of art for each Police Officer fighting vehicle crime.

See you all at our next seminar in Lithuania, Vilnius, in October 2018! Thanks for your membership, support and trust

THE WARM HEART OF OUR MEMBERS - THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY !

Each year we support a local charitable organization. This year we could give the big financial result of our raffle to the children in Prague who live in very difficult circumstances with limited means. All photos by Gerard van Warmerdam gerard@vwarmerdam.nl

APRIL/MAY 2018

UNITED KINGDOM BRANCH

BRANCH PRESIDENT

IS THERE A COMMERCIAL FUTURE FOR THE POLICING OF VEHICLE CRIME? By Dr. Ken German, Past President UK Branch

A in the enforcement, prevention and

sk anyone in the UK today who deals

disruption of vehicle & crime and they will tell you that their belief in the ability of police to both deal with and control these escalating offences in the future appears pretty uncertain. Government officials and senior police officers attending the recent UK’s National Vehicle Crime Conference held in Loughborough for instance were unanimous in expressing their concerns about the dramatic changes in the very dynamics of the current crime epidemic and suggested an urgent re-think was required before things got out of hand. One topic more than any other discussed was of course the continued depletion of police resources and the consequential loss of expertise so important nowadays in dealing with modern vehicle crime. Whilst the current terrorist threat has seen a huge demand for officers posted away from ‘normal’ duties it was unanimously agreed that an unacceptable rise in the latest vehicle theft figures continues to show that the organized crime gangs are tightening their grip on the technology and fraud methods necessary to sustain their multi-million pound enterprise. Unacceptable news from around the UK reported that four adjoining police forces had to amalgamate their low priority vehicle crime units and agree to deploy just one officer to deal with and examine all motor vehicle crimes often within an estimated two hundred & fifty mile radius. Other concerns discussed at this rather unique conference was the continued availability of advanced technical equipment to the criminal that offers access and alteration to vehicle electronics, new gadgets that compromise a vehicles OBD systems, portable high powered disc & laser cutters and endoscope invasion that 30

allows exploratory access to the contents of lorries, garages and other buildings prior to theft. Theft from commercial vehicles and HGV’s has also become a serious issue in itself with many stories of dealerships and private contractors losing their livelihood some suffering two and three attacks in one month, resulting in either a huge rise in their insurance premiums or in some cases being offered no insurance at all. The news that more motorcycles and scooters are now being stolen than are sold here in the UK was a unwelcome shock and the new ambiguous chase/no chase rulings received from the police federation simply compromised the ability of many forces to deal effectively with these crimes. This banning of ‘Blues and Two’s on a ‘shout’ is in essence declaring a lack of any legal protection to officers who are basically told to drive as a civilian should - within the law. This has yet to fully resonate with the Fire Brigade and Ambulance services who assume they may well be under a similar ruling. With an annual bill of £176 ½ billion pounds, fraud in the UK is by far the biggest burden on police time and today’s victims making any such allegations are initially encouraged to visit ‘Action Fraud’ on line and fill in the necessary report themselves to receive an auto-generated crime number. Soon it is expected that vehicle theft will also be turned into a self-reporting facility that will cause data suppliers records to be auto-populated, insurers & financiers to be notified immediately and ANPR used to locate suspect vehicles. The future of policing vehicle crime surprisingly appears to have taken advantage of the opportunities offered by various selected partners and sponsorship agreements and several success stories have

been convincing enough to bring a good case for future commercial involvement Ken German in aiding the police with auto crime offences in all but the arrest. One example is the rise in popularity of the tracking device which has seen these companies reporting unprecedented successes with some posting as much as a 90% recovery rate in the last 12 months. According to officers on the ground this technology clearly makes their work much easier particularly as many such companies now have their own efficient back up teams and support systems. Recent improvements in the reduction in size of these devices together with longer battery lives and a general ease of use not to mention affordability has been welcomed by the paranoid consumer as the must have necessity for an occurrence that is nowadays more likely to happen to them than not! Another success story has been the new covert DNA identification markings which can positively identify an owner or his property. Again the police have found these paramount to obtaining both the correct identification and true provenance of stolen vehicles, plant & agricultural equipment and leisure goods that have had their serial numbers removed. Insurance company investigation units are already on a par with the police in relation to the expertise required in vehicle & property crime investigations and will no doubt take on a more proactive role in the future clearly a move that would satisfy both parties. COMMERCIAL FUTURE continued on page 27 THE APB

FEATURE ARTICLE CARS, DOZERS, BACKHOES AND SKY-SCOOTERS CHALLENGES FOR IAATI, TODAY AND INTO THE FUTURE By Stephen Gobby

F auto theft investigator with the Sûreté du Québec, I had the

or about a decade back in the last millennium, while I was an

honor and pleasure of being a regular lecturer at the RCMP’s Canadian Police College in Ottawa. I was given 1 day out of a 2 week course to expound on vehicle theft investigation in Québec. At the time, Québec was the vehicle theft capital of Canada. One small component of the class I taught was statistical analysis. I would ask the participants how many vehicles had been reported stolen last year in their respective jurisdictions. Very few participants had this number on hand. I explained that, as graduates of the auto theft course, they should be familiar with these stats. I would then ask what other statistic was necessary to prepare a plan of attack against vehicle theft. Again, very few raised their hand. The most important statistic you need in order to paint a proper picture of vehicle theft in your territory is the recovery rate. How many vehicles are stolen is only half the story. How many vehicles are being recovered and returned to their owners is the other half of the story. The recovery rate is crucial to developing a strategic response. For example, if your department has a recovery rate of 95%, what does that say about vehicle theft in your area? It shows that you primarily have a joy ride problem (rarer today simply because cars are more difficult to steal). On the other hand, what would a recovery rate of 10% indicate? It would show that you had a huge organized vehicle theft situation in your territory and that you were not even putting a dent into the problem. Therefore, if you have a recovery rate of say 10% and you suggested to your department that they do a better PR job of getting people to lock their cars, you would be missing the mark completely. In order to fight organized vehicle theft you need an auto crime squad; officers trained and specialized in vehicle theft identification, and experienced in the investigation and the dismantling of vehicle theft rings. We are all aware that vehicle theft stats are down in North APRIL/MAY 2018

America over the past two decades. Police departments have reacted by ostensibly claiming victory and reducing or eliminating auto squads. Vehicle theft task forces are also being eliminated or downsized or are in danger of losing their funding because of their success in reducing the number of thefts. Some ATPAs have seen their funds diverted to other causes which is a shame because ATPAs have been carrying the banner for years now and are among our staunchest allies. Even IAATI has been affected. According to our Executive Director, John Abounader, our membership has dropped by as much as 15% over the past years due to the decreasing number of auto theft investigators. The problem, as I see it, is that the authorities are looking at the wrong statistic. We should be looking at our recovery rate instead of our theft rate. In a conversation with NICB’s Ivan Blackman, he agreed that while auto theft may have gone down, our recovery rate has not improved. It is still in the area of 50 to 60% across the North America. To complicate matters, there are auto theft investigators who doubt that vehicle thefts are actually down. Some claim that statistics are being fudged when a vehicle theft occurs, for example, at the same time as a burglary. Some believe that the Unified Crime Reports are not at all uniform, varying in interpretation from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. But the fact remains that our recovery rate has not changed and that our recovery rates are the true marker of whether or not organized crime is thriving in our territory. So, no, our work is not done. All of this brings me to the article on page 36 of our last APB (Nov/Dec. 2017) written by Melissa Somers (Construction Equipment Theft) in which Ms. Somers cites the NICB claim that the recovery rate for heavy equipment is 22%. Again, Ivan Blackman of the NICB confirmed this number. If it is true that the recovery rate tells the true story of what is happening in vehicle theft in a given region, what can we infer from that 22%? Clearly, it shows we are failing miserably in the area of heavy equipment theft, not even scratching the surface of the problem. Let’s take a closer look. CHALLENGES continued on page 33 31

NORTHEAST REGIONAL CHAPTER

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Joe Guidice

HAPPY 2018 FROM THE NORTHEAST CHAPTER!

T more reductions in auto theft in New

he year 2017 ended successfully with

York City. The current year-end total of stolen vehicles is 5688, down from 6327 in 2016 which constitutes an 11.1% drop. This historic downward trend in auto theft in NYC started back in 1990 and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of law enforcement in NYC and the surrounding region. As you can see from the attached chart, starting in 1990, auto theft has been down 26 out of the past 27 years. People are always asking who, what, why, how? I will be the first to say that it’s the auto theft Patrolman, Detective, Investigator, and Constable who engage auto theft and auto related crimes on an everyday basis that reduce the numbers, not just in NYC but within all of the US and Canada. In my NYPD unit, Auto Crime, which falls under the Criminal Enterprise Division, which is overseen by the Detective Bureau, where there are 101 police officers, detectives and supervisors who cover 8.5 million people and 3.2 million registered cars and motorcycles spread throughout the 5 NYC boroughs. The 69 fellow detectives and police officers who I work with in NYC, are always on the prowl, day and night, self-generating cases, debriefing persons of interest, suspects and prisoners, working with confidential informants, surfing the web working to keep the auto theft numbers down. Some claim it’s the technology that is causing the numbers to drop. I counter: if that’s the case, how come auto theft isn’t down 95% across the US (since 1990) as it is in NYC? It is clear that you need trained auto crime investigators to work with avail32

able technology to help fight auto theft. Fortunately, I have seen a slight increase in the amount of investigators who fight auto theft, reversing the very bad tactical move that some police departments have done reducing or flat out eliminating their auto theft units. On December 4-8, NERC Past President Tom Burke, IAATI Executive Director John Abounader, Interpol Criminal Intelligence Officer Renato Schipani and myself, hosted the INTERPOL Project Formatrain at the New York City Police Academy. This training hosted 40 law enforcement professionals, DMV investigators, insurance company investigators from all over the US and as well as members from Europe, Jamaica, Mexico, Australia, Dominican Republic. The training was executed by instructors from around the world and enabled participants to see the different trends and techniques used to fight auto crime nationally and internationally helping to bridge the gap of fighting global auto crime and allow us to share best practices. As they say, you save the best for last. As many of you know, one of my specialties is training and as most of you in the NERC know, I co-instruct the 4 day Fundamentals of Auto Theft Investigation course, which is open to all law enforcement and insurance company investigators, domestic and abroad. I’m looking forward to our premier training event, the 46th Annual training seminar which will take place at IAATI’s 66th annual training seminar co-hosted with the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. The seminar will take place on August 5-10 and the excellent seminar committee, led by Northeast Past President John Paskan, current Northeast Directors Denny Goodhart and Bonny Rupert, Regional Directors Scott

Monroe and Mark Hoy, along with assistance from ATPA President and Northeast Chapter Associate Director of Logistics Steven Wheeler, are planning a tremendous training event which will host auto theft investigators from around the world. In the coming days on the Northeast Chapter’s webpage, www.neiaati.com under the seminar section or at iaati.org/ events, you will find all seminar information. Along with excellent planned training, experts in a wide variety of auto related crime, and hands-on training, there will be a dedicated vendor area for everyone to see and sponsors who help make the seminar a success. If you or you know someone who might be interested in becoming a sponsor or vendor for the training, please contact Northeast Chapter Sponsor Chairperson Tod Neifert at neifertt2@gmail.com and/or IAATI 4th Vice President & IAATI Sponsor Director Brad Anderson at BradAnderson@iaati. org. As with any Northeast Chapter training seminar, the training will be superior, mix it with worldwide auto crime investigators, will push the seminar to a premier level. I look forward to seeing everyone there. That’s it for now. As always, be safe out there. PS: Don’t forget your business cards.

Joe Guidice

THE APB

CHAPTER PRESIDENT - JOSEPH GUIDICE

DIRECTOR DENNY GOODHART RECEIVES THE 2017 OH IASIU INVESTIGATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

P Goodhart for receiving the 2017 OH IASIU Investigator of

resident Joe Guidice would like to recognize Director Denny

the Year award. Denny is one of the hardest working members in

forensic laboratories and their experts dealing with crucial identification evidence, authorized contractors working in vehicle repatriation, locksmiths offering advice regarding key cloning and other companies who deal with vehicle data, plant equipment, caravan and leisure goods, they all share best practice & need to be recognized for their past contributions, and ability to lighten the load of the police, much of which is being offered freely to the police. The priorities of today’s policing are those that we all recognize but commercial partnerships have been successfully tested and will clearly play a part in the future battle against the car criminal. n CHALLENGES from page 31

COMMERCIAL FUTURE from page 24 Banks and Credit companies too are following suit with their investigation, liaison & support units as do Hire & Rental companies who have been badly targeted in the past and who remain a major target for the fraudsters and have created their own active investigation & crime support teams who are known to work well with the police Manufacturers benefiting from employing experienced investigators to deal with matters affecting their company brand, APRIL/MAY 2018

First of all, who recovers most of the stolen vehicles? Answer: patrol officers. As much as we would like to think that our auto crime squads have some impact, in reality the hundreds (a generous number) of vehicles that a squad might recover in a year doesn’t influence recovery statistics all that much. But to be truthful, patrol cops don’t necessarily recover vehicles because they go out of their way to investigate them. In truth, they happen upon them. Or they receive a call about a suspicious vehicle, they check the tag number or the VIN and get a positive hit. So, why don’t patrol cops recover as many pieces of heavy equipment as they do cars? Well, one reason is that thieves don’t abandon dozers and backhoes on the streets of the city and other open locations. Heavy equipment is typically found on construction sites. Another reason that patrol officers are not recovering more pieces of heavy equipment is because they are not trained in their identification. Unlike conventional vehicles, heavy equipment does not carry a 17 digit VIN. Trying to identify a piece of heavy equipment is like it was trying to identify a car back in the 1960s and 70s. There is no standardization of the VIN and secondary or C-VINs are few and far between. If that is not daunting enough, heavy equipment is large, cumbersome, dirty and generally uninviting to the uniformed patrol officer. So where does all this bring us in our role as auto theft investigators and as members of IAATI. Well, first and foremost, contrary to many police departments and legislators, we know that our job is not done. Even if theft numbers are down, we know that our recovery rate is not and that our work is cut out for us for decades into the future. One partner I had long ago was fond of saying: “Don’t worry: we’ll always have a job. In 2095, you’ll have bad guys stealing sky-scooters from space-mall parking lots.” Auto theft investigators also understand that vehicle theft in not an isolated criminal activity. It touches on many other realms of illicit activity: robberies, car-jacking, home invasions, identity CHALLENGES continued on page 45 33

NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Skip Copeland

A and New Year’s but when this come out, winter will be be-

s I sit and write these words we are right between Christmas

hind us and we will be enjoying warm spring days. Spring is the perfect time to start making plans for the upcoming conferences. I hope all of you are making plans to join the North Central Regional Chapter in Appleton, Wisconsin to attend the NCRC 2018 Annual Training Conference which is being held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel from April 30 – May 3, 2018. The on-site committee has been working hard to make this an educational and a fun conference. Please check the NCRC WebSite for all of the conference information and a registration form. If you have any questions, please contact any NCRC Board Member and we will be glad to assist you. I hope to see you in Appleton, Wisconsin. n Editor’s note: I would like to congratulate Skip Copeland on his 4th non-consecutive term as President of the NCRC. That is an IAATI record. Skip also serves as the chapter’s Treasurer. When I asked about how it felt being President 4 times, he replied:

“I can tell you this. Every time has gotten better. I have had the privilege of working with hard-working and professional people on the NCRC Board on every term and I have always had their support and a fantastic group of members. I have also always had great support from the Board of IAATI. I have learned a lot of important information and training from my years with the Skip Copeland NCRC and I have made a lot of friends. I encourage every NCRC member to get involved with the organization and attend the NCRC conferences and the IAATI conferences. You will learn a lot, have fun and make new friends. In my humble opinion, all chapters and branches need to get more people involved, especially the younger members, to keep these chapters growing! We old-timers won’t be here forever. Frankly, I don’t see a 5th term for me as NCRC President. And I can guarantee you one thing: the more you get involved in your chapter, the more fun you will have.”

SOUTHERN AFRICAN BRANCH NEWS BRANCH NEWS By President Motsamai Mollo

COMPLIMENTS OF THE NEW YEAR AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE YEAR AHEAD.

Iprivilege and honor to serve as the 2017/18 President.

would like to thank all the SAB members for allowing me the

We concluded the year with a joint Border Operation between IAATI, South African Police Services, and ZonkeUnicode between South Africa and Botswana. The operation took place on the 26th – 30th November 2017. The primary purpose of the Operation was as follows: • Introduction of the License Plate Recognition at the Point of Entry. • Training on the ZonkeUnicode App for vehicle verification to SAPS Members. • Training on the verification of Face Value Documentation for Cross Border vehicles.

CHAPTER PRESIDENT SKIP COPELAND

BRANCH PRESIDENT MOTSAMAI MOLLO

The operation was a huge success and we would like to thank the following Agencies that supported the Operation: • Tracker • Insurance Crime Bureau • Department of Transport • South African Police Services • ZonkeUnicode We will continue to participate in all SAPS Provincial Vehicle Forum as scheduled by the Insurance Crime Bureau in 2018. Our office has also planned Regional Training to support the members across the South African Region. We have an active Facebook site where members can contact us if they have stories to share or in need of the training assistance. Motsamai Mollo Best wishes to all! THE APB

SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL

CHAPTER PRESIDENT REID STACY

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE BLESSINGS TO ALL,

I2018 SCRC/TAVTI President. I find myself reflecting over the

t is with great humility that I compose this letter as your 2017-

years as a Member, Regional Director, and on the Executive Board, and the thing that rings true then and today is our foundation of selfless leaders. Their years of experience and knowledge is vast and sometimes overwhelming, but they are never too busy nor too important to assist in any way. I would like to personally give thanks and gratitude to Tommy Hansen, Bill Skinner and Jim Woods for your guidance, correction and encouragement that has allowed me to grow within our organization, an organization that I now call family! I am forever thankful. I would like to congratulate Pete Olivares on a successful presidency. Pete, it was a pleasure to serve as your 1st VP. Thank you and your family for the many sacrifices. Our 2017 conference has come and gone. We had an amazing time with 200 fellow members at the beautiful Omni Hotel in Dallas. This year’s training goal was to present the attendees with a broad curriculum while still encompassing our primary focus of auto theft investigations. We utilized instructors with expert knowledge in investigating offenses such as Homicide, Gang Unit, Forgery/Fraud, Swat and Arson. I would encourage all attendees to complete the emailed survey, your opinion and feedback is very valuable. Our hosting agencies Dallas PD Junkyard Dogs and Tri-County Task Force did an excellent job. I would like to say thank you to Leandro Garza, Kenneth Ferguson and Stan Davis for all the long hours and selfless acts. Without your hard work, the conference would not have been a success. I would also like to thank Stroker’s Dallas and Gas Monkey Live for opening their venues for our evening events. Members, it is an honor and privilege to serve as your President with the strongest Executive Board, Regional and Associate Directors ever constructed. I ask that you hold me accountable to the highest level as I will do the same with our fellow Board Members. Board, we are not merely called to maintain what has already been built, but we are called to grow and strengthen our organization! Remember to be strong enough to stand alone, but wise enough to stand together. I am thankful and honoured that you have made this commitment and sacrifice with me. I would like to personally invite each of you to the 2018 conference in Galveston Texas at the Historic Hotel Galvez, form October 22nd through October 26th, 2018. It is an exciting time for the association as we continue to grow, learn and adapt to the everchanging auto theft industry. If you have any class suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact the board or myself. I look forward to seeing each of you in Galveston. n APRIL/MAY 2018

Reid Stacy, SCRC/TAVTI, Dallas Police Department More About SCRC President, Reid Stacy Reid Stacy is an 18-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, currently assigned to Auto Theft Unit-Commercial Interdiction. During his time with the police department he has worked several assignments to help combat auto theft. In 2001, he was assigned to Southwest Patrol Division-Auto Theft Street Squad where he stayed until 2004. In 2004, he was assigned to Auto Theft- Bait-Car Operation. A new assignment came up in 2007 when Reid was then assigned to the Commercial Interdiction/Salvage Squad. He stayed there until 2009. In 2009 he was assigned to the Commercial Interdiction/Intelligence Unit, where he remains today. He has worked with some amazing officers through arrests and investigations over the years. He has been honored with over 100 commendations for bravery, quick response, alertness, investigative skills, professionalism, diligent work and dedication to duty. He has also been the recipient of several awards including: 2001 Life Saving Award, 2004 SW Patrol Officer of the Month, 2006 Rotary Officer of the Year, 2009 SCRC-Worth Seaman Vehicle Theft Award, 2010 IAATI Award of Merit, 2011 Dallas Police Department Detective of the Year, 2017 SCRC-C.C. Benson Award and 2017 SCRC Above and Beyond Award.

Reid Stacy

LATIN AMERICAN BRANCH NEWS

A FOND FAREWELL - UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN he human factor is conditioned by “T different circumstances, especially attitudes, which are the result of the process of learning, experiences and relationships. Attitudes like modesty, objectivity, creativity, responsibility, among many others, form behavioral tools and people`s conduct. In police work, trying to modify those attitudes is usually a difficult process, most of all considering its unavoidable and pathologically short deadlines. Actually, whoever must make the decisions (the manager or leader) to be a good agent of change, needs time, effort and also training.” Extract from “Administration and Public Policies, Management and Marketing Applied to Security Agencies” by Prof. Agustin José Patelli. • AGUSTIN JOSE PATELLI, Professor and Inspector Commissioner (Retired) was born in La Plata, Province of Buenos Aires, on the 23rd September 1948. He attended as cadet the Academy of Police Juan Vucetich and was graduated as Officer on January 1st 1969. • From his graduation to the end of 1994 he worked at different police stations in the Province of Buenos Aires, with an ascendant career. On 22nd November 1994 he was distinguished with the position of Director of the Police Academy, from which he had already been Instructor, Chief of Company and chief of Cadets, holding this position until 21st November 1995. He retired on the 13th January 1998. However, in the year 2015, he was asked by the Ministry of Security to fulfill the position of Executive Officer of the Program to Incorporate Candidates to the Police, which he held “ad honorem” until 2006. • As for his teaching career, it began at the Juan Vucetich Academy of Police in the Province of Buenos Aires, from 1974 to 1999, uninterruptedly and, since then, in 36

Agustín left us on the 20th November 2017, passing away at the age of 69 / Agustín nos dejó el 20 de noviembre de 2017, falleciendo a los 69 años.

Agustin (in the middle) when he was attending the Police Academy as a Cadet/ Agustin (en el medio) cuando asistía a la Escuela de Policía como Cadete.

Agustin and his wife, Lidia Viera, at the presentation of the last edition of his book in 2014 / Agustin y su esposa, Lidia Viera, en la presentación de la última edición de su libro en 2014. different conferences and seminars. • He taught several courses at Law and Politics Science School from the Catholic University of La Plata, being in the year 2017 principal of the Management of Human Resources and Private Security lecture. • Also, in 2005 he published his book “Administration and Public Policies, Management and Marketing Applied

BRANCH PRESIDENT - DANIEL BECK

students at the Academy of Police. • He worked as Chief of Security for the Gymnastics and Fencing Club from La Plata –a very important soccer club in Argentina- from 1998 to 2015. • For more than 15 years he worked as Chief of Security in Lo Jack, Car Security S.A. • He actively participated in the creation of the LATAM Branch for the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators in the year 2011, holding since then, the position of Executive Director. At the same time, he was elected Associate Director –two periods- and Director –one periodfor the IAATI Board.

The delegation attending the International Seminar in 2011 in Kansas City, where the LatAm Branch was created / La delegación que asistió al Seminario Internacional en 2011 en la Ciudad de Kansas, donde la Rama Latinoamericana fue creada. to Security Agencies”, Dunken Editors, with its last edition in 2014, Buenos Aires, Argentina. • At the end of the 70´s, Agustín created the School of Police March, which has been tuned by entire generations of

In this short biographical review, it’s very easy to see in facts, what Agustin was referring to in the passage of his book above: it’s the attitudes, those that are born in the process of learning, developed throughout the experiences gathered along the years and the relationships we build, that are the MOST IMPORTANT THING. Agustín carried out his life following those values he proclaimed: modesty, objectivity and responsibility and many other more, teaching with his own example. Men live on their words, because of what they´ve fight for, their ideas, because of what they share: their life lessons and experiences that work as a guide and trace a path.

Therefore the importance of recalling life stories, those that bring memories that left a permanent track on us, in our hearts and spirit; the masterpiece which is forged and remains thanks to the conviction of its creator. What you’ve read above is A MAN’s LIFE WORK, his MASTERPIECE and his PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS. But… Suddenly, we are left alone, without advice, without good discussions, without the close one. And, it is in that moment that we realize how much we need the encouragement, the well-intentioned criticism, the tenacity to keep going a little further, to demand and outdo ourselves, to reinvent us while we are changing, and to change again within that process. We will miss the company, the pat, the hug, the guide. The OLD MAN: that person who made the difference between trying and achieving. Paraphrasing a very well-known poet… “When a friend goes away, a burning ember remains that is not possible to extinguish even with the waters of a river.” Goodbye Agustín…we will all miss you very much! Enlighten us from wherever you are! We will need it to keep going on! The IAATI LatAm Team. n

The LATAM Delegation at the 65th Anual Training Seminar, Cape Town, South Africa, 2017 / La delegación latinoamericana en el 65to Seminario Anual de Entrenamiento, Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica, 2017. APRIL/MAY 2018

LATIN AMERICAN BRANCH NEWS

CADA DESPEDIDA ES NECESARIA PARA LLEGAR AL REENCUENTRO

“Epor distintas circunstancias, espe-

l factor humano está condicionado

cialmente actitudes, que son el resultado del proceso de aprendizaje, experiencias y relaciones. Las actitudes son como la humildad, la objetividad, la creatividad, la responsabilidad, entre muchas otras, son las herramientas del comportamiento y de las conductas de las personas. En la tarea policial, tratar de modificar las actitudes suele resultar ser un proceso difícil y máxime siendo los plazos ineludibles y patológicamente cortos. En realidad, quien debe tomar decisiones (el gerente o conductor) para ser un buen agente de cambio, necesita tiempo, esfuerzo y también capacitación.” Extracto de “El Gerenciamiento y las Políticas Públicas, Management y Marketing Aplicados en Función de las Agencias de Seguridad” del Prof. Agustin José Patelli. • El Profesor y Comisario Inspector (R) AGUSTIN JOSE PATELLI, nació en La Plata, Provincia de Buenos Aires, el 23 de septiembre de 1948, fue cadete de la Escuela de Policía Juan Vucetich y egresó como Oficial Subayudante el primero de enero de 1969. • Desde su egreso y hasta fines del año 1994 se desempeñó en distintas dependencias de la Policía de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, cuando el 22 de noviembre del año 1994 fue distinguido con el honorable cargo de Director del Liceo Policial, del cual fuera Instructor, Jefe de Compañía y Jefe de Cuerpo de Cadetes, cargo que ocupó hasta el 21 de noviembre de 1995, continuando con su carrera ascendente hasta su retiro el 13 de enero de 1998. No obstante, en el año 2005, fue convocado por el Ministerio de Seguridad como Responsable Ejecutivo del Programa de Incorporación de Aspirantes de nuestra

Policía, cargo que ocupó hasta el año 2006 de manera “Ad Honorem”. • En cuanto a su carrera docente, se desempeñó en la Escuela de Policía Juan Vucetich, la Escuela de Suboficiales y Agentes, y en el Liceo Policial, desde el año 1974 hasta 1999, en forma ininterrumpida y a partir de allí, en distintos ciclos de conferencias y seminarios. • Dictó distintas asignaturas en la Universidad Católica de La Plata, en la Facultades de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas, encontrándose en el año 2017 como titular de las cátedras de Gestión de Recursos Humanos y de Seguridad Privada de la Licenciatura en Seguridad. • Además, en el año 2005 publicó su obra “El Gerenciamiento y las Políticas Públicas, Management y Marketing Aplicados en Función de las Agencias de Seguridad”, Editorial Dunken, última edición 2014, Buenos Aires, Argentina. • A fines de la década de 1970, Agustín fue quien creo nada más ni nada menos que la marcha del Liceo Policial, la que fue entonada por generaciones de liceístas. • Se desempeñó como Jefe de Seguridad del Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata de 1998 a 2015. • Durante 15 años coloboró en la empresa Lo Jack – Car Security S.A., cumpliendo funciones como Jefe de Seguridad. • Participó activamente de la creación de la Rama Latinoamericana de la Asociación Internacional de Investigadores del Robo de Vehículos (IAATI) en el año 2011, siendo desde ese entonces su Director Ejecutivo. Paralelamente, fue designado Director Asociado -por dos períodos- y luego Director -un período- de IAATI. A partir de esta suscinta reseña biográfica, se ve reflejado en hechos, aquello que

refería Agustín en un pasaje de su libro: son las actitudes, aquellas que nacen producto del proceso de aprendizaje, construido a través de las experiencias acumuladas a lo largo de los años y las relaciones cultivadas. Agustín se desempeñó con esos valores que él pregonaba: humildad, objetividad y responsabilidad, y con muchas más, enseñando con el ejemplo. Los hombres perduran por sus mensajes, por lo que luchan por sus ideas, por lo que comparten, por las enseñanzas y vivencias que sirven de guía y marcan un camino. De ahí la importancia biográfica , la que nos trae el recuerdo y que marca una huella indeleble en el corazón y el espíritu ; la obra es la que se forja y se mantiene en base a la convicción del creador. Lo que antecede a estas palabras es LA OBRA DE UN HOMBRE, su OBRA MAESTRA y sus LOGROS PROFESIONALES. Pero… De pronto nos quedamos solos, solos de consejos, solos de las buenas discusiones, solos de afectos, Y es el momento en el que comprendemos cuanto nos faltan las palabras de aliento, las criticas bien intencionadas, la tenacidad en seguir un poco más, en exigirnos para lograr superarnos, reinventarnos en la propuesta de cambiar , y cambiar dentro del cambio. Nos va a faltar la compañía, la palmada, la caricia en la espalda, el guía. El VIEJO: aquel que marcó la diferencia entre intentar y lograr… Parafraseando a un poeta bien conocido: “cuando un amigo se vá, queda un tizón encendido, que no se puede apagar, ni con las aguas de un río”. Chau Agustín…todos te vamos a extrañar!!! Ilumínanos desde el lugar donde estés!!! Nos hará falta para seguir!!! Todo el equipo de IAATI Latam. n THE APB

BRANCH PRESIDENT - DANIEL BECK

WE KEEP GROWING IN BRAZIL 5TH EXPOCIST SYMPOSIUM

Oof Sao Pablo, Brazil, this major event

n the 23rd November 2017 in the City

for the insurance industry of the region, was developed.

Since we signed an agreement of cooperation with the International Club of Cargo Insurance from Brazil, every year we are invited to attend to this meeting, which gathers the most important experts in cargo theft investigation and prevention, insurance fraud, among others. This time, President Daniel Beck was especially invited to speak at the opening ceremonies. Among the most important topics: digital innovation in the insurance world, cargo theft situation in Rio de Janeiro, drone regulations and its use in cargo security.

Our Director in Brazil, Carlos Alberto Betancur Ruiz, led the conversations, trying to point out common interests of both entities. FECAP (Fundación Escuela de Comercio Alvares Penteado) is a private university of high education, non-profit organization, with a specialized profile in management. It has its headquarters in Sao Pablo, Brazil, and was founded in June 1902. AGREEMENT WITH THE MAGISTRATES AND COURT OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION FROM ZARATE-CAMPANA JUDICIARY DEPARTMENT Also, on 19th December, we signed an agreement with the Magistrates and Court Officials Association from ZarateCampana Judiciary Department, from the Province of Buenos Aires. On its behalf, its President Christian José Fabio, attended the meeting. This agreement is very important

Daniel Beck and Christian José Fabio, President of the Association of Magistrates and Court Officials because it is our first big official approach to judges and prosecutors in general, for them to get to know IAATI, its work, its importance and the benefits that belonging to it may carry for their investigations. With this agreement, both parties declared mutual collaboration regarding professional development and full time communication. The plan is to get to others associations like this, to reach more and more professionals every day. n

VIDEOCONFERENCE WITH FECAP UNIVERSITY On 19th December, we held a videoconference with authorities of the FECAP University from Sao Pablo, Brazil, to move forward with the negotiations towards a future agreement of cooperation with this prestigious entity. We discussed the aim of the future agreement and mutual points of interest. APRIL/MAY 2018

WESTERN REGIONAL CHAPTER NEWS

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE DEAR IAATI FRIENDS,

t was a great honor to have been elected President 2017-2018 Western Regional Chapter of IAATI. I wish to thank the membership for their trust in electing me to this term. My name is Michael “Mick” O’Neill and I am currently a Senior Special Investigator and Law Enforcement Liaison for Hagerty Classic Car Insurance, the pre-eminent classic, exotic and vintage car insurer which is headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan. I began my career in 1979 with a European law enforcement agency and in the 1990’s moved to the United States in addition to working throughout Latin-America with respect to law enforcement issues. I am past President of the Orange County Auto Theft Investigator’s Association (2014-2016), current Secretary of the Western States Auto Theft Investigator’s Association, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (Los Angeles Chapter) and now newly elected President of the Western Regional Chapter. It is my desire during my tenure to bring together many excellent current and former auto theft detectives to assist in providing training to other chapters who may not have the resources currently available to them. Whether this will be a direct on-site presentation, or by means of telephone conferences, or via the internet; I hope those in need of training will reach out to their respective taskforce leaders and request our assistance.

CHASING CLASSIC CARS By Mick O’Neill, President WRC

Cfires and movie stars, all wrapped up in

alifornia, land of eternal sunshine, wild-

the trendsetting history of the car culture where all drive and never walk – even if it’s only a few blocks. Okay, so I might be overstating things a little, but there is no doubt that California in particular has a worldwide reputation within the automotive world as a trendsetting location. Where else in the world could you see one of the great car chases in movie history such as in the iconic 1968 Peter Yates, movie Bullitt, as Steve McQueen, in his green 1968 Shelby Mustang GT, takes on the hitmen in their 1968 Dodge Charger R/T as they duel and speed through the streets of San Francisco. Tires smoking, engines screaming and growling as McQueen forces the hitmen off the road 40

I also encourage those new members to keep their membership of IAATI updated and utilize it as a valuable tool for knowledge and networking throughout the United States and well beyond our borders. In addition, please encourage those you meet at the various and varied law enforcement and insurance industry seminars to find time to sign-up for this organization which has Mike O’Neill been dedicated since the 1950’s to help combat the theft of motor vehicles. I conclude my message by once again thanking all of the dedicated partners with special mention to past board Presidents, John Bartolone, Dennis Frias, JD Hough, Annette Jacobs, Rick Spallinger, Rick Greenwood, Gary Labb and Bud Hood, and those I may have failed to mention, as stalwarts in maintaining the integrity of this great organization. Once again please reach out to any of the board members for assistance and we will be happy to help. Mick O’Neill, President

resulting in the Dodge Charger exploding in a massive fireball as it collides with a gas station and McQueen, ever so cool, looking over his left shoulder as he pulls away in one of the movie poster depictions from the film. McQueen would later go on to become a collector of classic cars as we know them today. His love for Porsches was legendary and his love of racing cars, such as in the movie Le Mans, propelled him into the superstar status as one of the coolest cats on the big screen. Fast forward 30 years and classic cars really started to become not just the realm of the rich and famous, but for the everyday person who wanted to return to his or her youth and get their first car back, the one they had in high school and didn’t care about so much then, but later yearned for, that 1967 Ford Mustang

or the 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS, or dad’s 1957 Bel-Air or Thunderbird. We all yearn for those simpler times. However, with the monumental increase in ownership of collector cars and the plethora of classic car shows throughout the country (in addition to the auctions seen on cable TV such as the Barrett-Jackson and Mecum Auctions to name but a few), head-spinning sales prices have soared, only making these cars all the more popular and desired. In 2016, there were approximately 44,000 vehicles stolen in Los Angeles County alone. In the State of California as a whole, probably in excess of 100,000 cars. Now given that many of these were late 1980s and 1990s Hondas and various trucks and other models (non-classic car-related), the actual numbers of stolen classic cars is very minimal. However, THE APB

CHAPTER PRESIDENT - MICHAEL O’NEILL

what appears on the surface to be a small number of classic thefts belies their true insurance value, which can exceed the cost of all non-classic stolen cars combined in California. Some of the most popular stolen classic cars on an annual basis are the 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS (the Number One stolen classic car for several years now), the 1967 Ford Mustang, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, 1968 Chevrolet Nova and Chevelles, in addition to 1960’s Ford Thunderbirds, 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Airs, and many others such as the Volkswagen Beetle. My job, as I investigate the facts surrounding the loss of these vehicles as it relates to our clients, is to initially determine whether there is any insurance fraud associated with the loss. Yes, it will come as a big surprise that some folks actually report their collector car stolen only to have it stashed in grandma’s garage in the next town over as he or she waits on that big check in the mail from the insurance company. So what will they do with that “stolen”, let’s say, 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS? They can’t drive it if it is entered into the stolen vehicle system (SVS) or take it to car shows etc. Well, believe it or not, they might just change the numbers, or “VIN switch it” as they say in the classic car world. It is not difficult to do being that most vehicles prior to 1967 did not have a public vehicle identification number on the dash as we see them today. The bad guys know all the tricks of the trade to title wash and change numbers on these vehicles. In addition, if the vehicle was not in the greatest condition to begin with when they obtained insurance coverage, they might chop it up for parts and sell them on eBay or some other internet forum like Craigslist, and make even more money. Some people even just leave them on the street to be stolen so they can collect the insurance money. But for the most part, our clients – like many other insurance carrier clients – are the true victims of the many organized criminal gangs targeting the classic car inventory. There are so many classic cars out there and the “upstanding citizens” who target them utilize all means available to get their hands on them, from operating bandit tow-and-repo trucks (which literally pick them up off the street and residential driveways), to punching out the ignition and hotwiring the car as they drive away from the owner’s house, or, in many cases, literally stealing them right out of the homeowner’s garage in the middle of the night! Think “Gone in 60 seconds” a la 1974! APRIL/MAY 2018

Classic cars by their nature are not protected by sophisticated electronic ignition systems like we see in today’s modern vehicles. Just about every other Chevrolet car key in the 1960s would likely open and start another 1960s Chevrolet vehicle. For that reason, I always recommend to clients if they have a car they truly want to protect to install a tracker such as a Lojack device, which in many cases can at least give law enforcement an opportunity to get the client’s car back as they track it through ground and air assets. I work regularly with the many auto theft taskforces throughout California and the western United States. Here in Los Angeles County, we have the Taskforce Regional Auto-Theft Prevention (TRAP) who work tirelessly pursuing the criminal organizations that target all sorts of vehicles in addition to the classic cars I specialize in. A few years ago, members of TRAP and I sat down and did a video interview with a notorious car thief from Southern California. We estimated that over a 40-year period starting when he was about 14 years old, he had stolen or was connected to 100,000 car thefts! That’s ONE individual. He loved Porsches and Chevy’s and his appetite to steal cars has not diminished even to this day. There are many stories in the City of Angels, about the classic car theft world out here in Hollywood land, but if you take anything away from this article, know that if you are the proud owner of a classic or vintage car which you hope to leave to your sons or daughters, be wise as to where you park it, store it, show it, wash it, drive it, have it worked on, and in general, just about anything you do with it. Because my friends, as I always say with respect to classic cars, it is not a question of if it will be stolen, but when. Let’s not see it chopped up or VIN switched or put in a container at the local docks to be surreptitiously shipped somewhere else in the world. Protect it and enjoy the many hours of fun it will give you and the many thumbs up from passing motorists. Just make sure those motorists don’t follow you home! n Mick O’Neill is the 2017-2018 Western Regional Chapter President of IAATI, the 2018 Vice-President of the Western States Auto Theft Investigator’s Association (WSATI.org) and the past President 2014-2016 Orange County Auto Theft Investigator’s Association (OCATI.org). 41

WESTERN REGIONAL CHAPTER NEWS

1965 GT 350 HIDDEN AWAY FOR 27 YEARS By Randy Richardson, Special Investigator, California Department of Insurance

ne of the most iconic Mustangs every manufactured is the 1965 Shelby Mustang GT 350. Based on Ford Motor Company’s new Mustang, which was affectionately branded as a “Secretary’s Car”, the Shelby Mustang GT 350 bellowed “Total Performance”. Based out of Shelby American’s Venice Shops, one at 1042 Princeton Drive the other around the corner at 3221 Carter Street, a handful of Shelby’s employees were tasked with making the Mustang into a fire breathing Corvette conquering race car, ready to pounce on all of the competition in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). This was no easy task, as the Falcon based chassis was crude and far from an ideal platform to build a race car from. Carroll Shelby assembled a Team led by Project Engineer Chuck Cantwell and Dick Lins to build 100 examples to satisfy the SCCA requirement to run in B Production. But before production could begin, they had to figure out what needed to be changed to make the less-than-inspiring Mustang into a race and performance street car, and keep the cost down as well. In order to race the GT 350 in SCCA B Production Shelby could not make changes to both the engine and chassis for the race version so the early street versions were built with the race chassis and suspension parts. This, of course, was great news for the public to be able to purchase a street performance car with a race pedigree. For the Competition, or “R” Model for “Race”, the GT 350 was equipped with a 385 horsepower 289 High Performance motor, a re-designed front valance, brake cooling ducts, no carpet, fiberglass seats, plastic windows, a full set of competition gauges, a roll bar, larger capacity radiator, oil cooler, 37 gallon fuel tank with large diameter fill cap with built in funnel and 42

15”x7” alloy wheels. The suspension however was unchanged with the exception of adjusting a stiffer damping on the Koni shocks. Ford sent out two notch back Mustang coupes along with Ford chassis specialist Klaus Arning for testing. Shelby assigned the development to Ken Miles and with

the assistance of Bob Bondurant, headed out to Willow Springs Raceway to turn the Mustang into a race car. Klaus Arning came up with the simple geometric change in the front-end A arms and specified Koni shocks, override traction bars, Detroit locker, and wider wheels and tires. The Shelby GT 350 utilized the THE APB

CHAPTER PRESIDENT - MICHAEL O’NEILL

Galaxie station wagon rear-end equipped with a towing package with Ford’s largest rear brakes at 10” in diameter with 2.5” wide sintered metallic brake linings. Best of all, this axle bolted right into the Mustang chassis with very little modification. Once the development was underway and pieces were selected from Ford’s parts catalog to enhance the performance of the Shelby GT 350 Pete Brock was tasked with making the vanilla-looking Mustang into something with a Shelby sporting image. With limitations that it couldn’t cost too much, Brock redesigned the easily removable components such as the hood and replaced with it with a fiberglass version to save weight, two versions of the wheels, the instrument pod mounted to the dash and of course, the GT 350’s racing stripes based on the graphics of Briggs Cunningham’s Le Mans Team cars. Brock worked with Ken Miles, Bob Bondurant and Chuck Cantwell at Willow Springs Raceway in developing the Shelby GT 350 “R-Model” (R designation for the race versions of the Shelby GT 350). Brock designed the fiberglass valance with a large opening that directed airflow through an oil cooler and the radiator. A pair of holes, one on each side, fed cooling air to the front disc brakes. The rear quarter window vents were covered by riveting on panels to control laminar airflow around the car at speed and the rear Plexiglas window was redesigned to vent air out of the cab. To be readily identifiable as a Shelby Mustang, Brock designed the side stripes on the rocker panel. By the 1966 model year Brock added the rear brake side scoops and the clear Plexiglas quarter window vents. In late 1964 early 1965 Shelby American was a torrent of activity. The Cobra roadsters were dominate at International circuits, the Peter Brock designed Cobra Daytona Coupe won Le Mans and was well on the way to an FIA GT Manufacturer’s Championship, the King Cobra’s won the Sports Car races in 1963 and 1964 and Shelby American was given the GT40 race program. The Venice Shop was the hub of International Racing and now took on the manufacturing of the Shelby GT 350. On Valentine’s Day in 1965 Ken Miles won the debut race at Green Valley Raceway in Texas in the newly developed race prepared Shelby GT 350 (SFM5R002). Later that year Jerry Titus won the B Production SCCA Championship driving a Shelby GT350. Success reigned once again for Shelby American. By early 1965 Shelby American moved from the Venice facilities to a larger complex next to the Los Angeles Airport (LAX). But things changed after the move to LAX from a small operation in Venice with a handful of Southern California hot-rodders to a more formalized environment. The early GT 350’s were manufactured by Shelby American and each had a unique serial number in consecutive order. Designated as SFM for Shelby Ford Manufacture the early cars were 5R001, 5R002 and 5S003, as Prototypes with the “R” listed as “RACE” and the “S” listed as “STREET”. 5004 through 5014 APRIL/MAY 2018

were called “Advanced Pre-Production Prototypes” and were all street cars, 5015 was called “Production”. Our feature car is SFM5013, the thirteenth GT 350 built for the 1965 model year of a total of 562 Shelby’s, which was originally invoiced (A334) on 5/20/65 to Hi-Performance Motors, 1150 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA (owned by Carroll Shelby and Lew Spencer). The invoice was for $3,300.00 and listed “MUSTANG GT-350 Serial No. SFM 5S013”. According to the Shelby American Registry 5013 was received at Shelby American on 12/20/64; date work started was 1/5/65; date finished was 1/25/65. 5013 was an “Advanced Pre-Production Prototype” and used as a Public Relations car by Shelby American and was also used as a subject of a poster. The Shelby’s first owner was Editor of Sports Car Graphic magazine John Christy who purchased 5013 after he drove 5007 in Sports Car Graphic’s 10,000-mile road test from Los Angeles to Sebring to New York back to Los Angeles covering 25 states. 5013 was sold to eight additional owners, five of those owners in 1988 alone, and was purchased sight-unseen by the current owner in 1990. The current owner is an eclectic enthusiast with many significant automobiles in his collection including a 1948 SCTA Championship record holder roadster, a historically significant SCCA 1958 Porsche Speedster, a world famous 1959 sports car racer and an original 1964 Cobra 289 roadster. The owner and his wife have traveled all over the world racing and exhibiting their collection in an effort to preserve and honor the cars’ historical significance, often times including the family members of the builders of these historic racers in their adventures. So it is a mystery why the owner had the Shelby stored inside a garage under a cover for 27 years and has never driven the car since his purchase in 1990. A year ago the owner had the Shelby towed to an expert technician to service the Shelby, refurbishing the brake and fuel systems, checking the condition of the original high performance 289 c.i. and making sure the Shelby is in top operational condition. The owner recognizes the historical significance of SFM5013 and had the car towed down to Shelby American International in September 2017 to be displayed for the first time in over 27 years during the press announcement of the building of the Original Venice Crew GT 350 IRS Mustangs. The originality of SFM5013 is significant considering it was built 52 years ago and has been stored for half of its life. There are very small items that had been serviced over the years that are not original but that is considered normal for a car of this age and easily corrected. SFM5013 is in amazing and beautiful condition and remains as what Carroll Shelby intended over 50 years ago when he took Ford’s “Secretary’s Car” and developed a Mustang that was a performance street car that took on the competition in SCCA racing and won championships in what was considered basic street trim. n 43

WESTERN REGIONAL CHAPTER NEWS

AATIA’S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON A HUGE SUCCESS By Amanda O’Halloran and Ann Armstrong (Arizona Auto Theft Prevention Authority)

T gator’s Association (AATIA) Annual

his year’s Arizona Auto Theft Investi-

Christmas Luncheon was held at Dillon’s located on beautiful Lake Pleasant just north of Phoenix. With great weather and a sunny disposition, we closed this year with great successes and giving hands. Keeping up with tradition and perpetuating that holiday spirit, members of AATIA held a food drive during the luncheon that resulted in the delivery of a “car load” of canned goods to St. Mary’s Food Bank, accompanied with a $1,000.00 check towards their cause. AATIA also donated $500.00 to the family of Detective Bernie Castillo. His wife, Michelle, is currently going through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Thoughts and prayers are with Michelle, Bernie and the Castillo family. Continuing with this spirit of giving, AATIA took time to recognize several of its members for their accomplishments throughout 2017. Awards were voted on by the AATIA Board through submissions made by other AATIA members. This year’s AATIA Detective of the Year is Jason Henderson with the Arizona Department of Public Safety and Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force (AVTTF). Detective Henderson was nominated for his continued efforts and dedication to the Task Force and its mission. His willingness to help fellow officers, described as one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, and a genuine wealth of knowledge, to which he is more than willing to share. Congratulations, Detective Henderson and thank you for your efforts. The Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force Detective of the Year was given to Detective Kasey Ball from the Tucson Police Department. Detective Ball was nominated by the Pima County Attorney’s Office for his outstanding performance and sincere dedication in his work to fight auto theft. The Association is looking forward to 2018 and many more successes combating auto theft crimes in Arizona. n 44

New Board: 2018 AATIA Board: (Left to right): Nancy Temporado (Secretary); Charlie Warner (Sergeant at Arms); Bob Bowers (President); Richard Spallinger (VP); Carmen Swanson (Treasurer); Jason Henderson (Member at Large) THE APB

TRAINING SCHEDULE from page 15

D R A F T

0800-0945

0945-1000 1000-1145

Wednesday August 8, 2018

BREAKOUT 13 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 14 (Room TBA)

1445-1500 1500-1700

Dark Web Investigations Joe Stephenson Hagerty Insurance

Todd Blair NICB

John Paskan, Denny Goodhart NICB & Cincinnati Insurance

BREAKOUT 17 (Room TBA) Auto Theft & Terrorism George Grossenbaugh & Tommy Burke

BREAKOUT 18 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 19 (Room TBA)

HEAVY EQUIPMENT & IDENTIFICATION TRACK

Vehicle Infotainment Systems – The Cutting Edge Source of Vehicle and Occupant Data

Cell Phone Tower Investigations

Classroom - Part 2

Shawn Harrington ARCCA

Anna Kotsovos

Scott Monroe & Mike Pisarchick Cranberry Township Police & Pennsylvania State Police

BREAKOUT 21 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 22 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 23 (Room TBA)

Carjacking Part 1

Forward Thinking SIU Leadership

Clone Vehicle Identificaiton

Offsite Demonstrations

Bob Patton & Kelly Glavin US Attorney's Office

Matthew Smith

Fran Hannigan, Mike Kelso, Richard Spallinger

Coalition Against Insurance Fraud

NICB

Shuttle buses will depart promptly at 1300 hours for a rotation of three different locations

BREAKOUT 25 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 26 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 27 (Room TBA)

HEAVY EQUIPMENT & IDENTIFICATION TRACK

Carjacking Part 2

Forensic Identification

ATV Identification & Investigation

Offsite Demonstrations

Bob Patton & Kelly Glavin US Attorney's Office

Mark Sargent Motor Vehicle Forensics

BREAKOUT 29 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 30 (Room TBA)

Mystery Box /Relay Attack System

Vehicle Infotainment Systems – The Cutting Edge Source of Vehicle and Occupant Data

NICB

Shawn Harrington ARCCA

BREAKOUT 33 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 34 (Room TBA)

Clone Vehicle Identificaiton

The Pen is Mightier than the Slampull Synthetic IDs

BREAK -Admiral Room

Lunch (on your own)

0945-1000 1000-1145

BREAK -Admiral Room

Thursday August 9, 2018

BREAKOUT 31 (Room TBA) Vehicle Theft & Fraud Trends - Part 1 Todd Wolf California Highway Patrol (Retired)

BREAKOUT 35 (Room TBA) Vehicle Theft & Fraud Trends - Part 2

Classroom - Part 1 Jason Costanzo & Donald Brucker Allegheny County FIRE & ARSON TRACK Classroom - Part 1 Jason Costanzo & Donald Brucker Allegheny County

BREAKOUT 37 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 38 (Room TBA)

BREAKOUT 39 (Room TBA)

Mystery Box /Relay Attack System

Payment Card Money Laundering - The Currency of Criminals

Offsite Demonstrations

NICB

T.Jack Williams ERAD Group

Shuttle buses will depart promptly at 1300 hours for a live demonstration

BREAK -Admiral Room

Todd Wolf

FIRE & ARSON TRACK

California Highway Patrol (Retired)

Mike LeDoux Carfax

FIRE & ARSON TRACK

LOACTION TBA

IAATI Business Meeting

1700-2030 0800-0945

Shuttle buses will return from rotation of three different locations

NICB

Lunch (on your own)

Carfax & Fraud Investigations

1445-1500 1500-1645

Todd Blair NICB EVENING EVENT - LOCATION TBD

HEAVY EQUIPMENT & IDENTIFICATION TRACK

Kelly Duran & Mike Kelso Ally & NICB

Fran Hannigan, Mike Kelso, Richard Spallinger

1145-1300 1300-1445

Classroom - Part 1

NICB

BREAK -Admiral Room

1700-2030 0800-0945

HEAVY EQUIPMENT & IDENTIFICATION TRACK

Ed Bridgeman Universitiy of Cincinnati

Cininnati Insurance & NYPD

1145-1300 1300-1445

BREAKOUT 15 (Room TBA) Motorcycle Identification & Investigation

Terrorism 101- A basic introduction to the concept, definitions and philosophy of Terrorism

BANQUET - LOCATION TBD

BREAKOUT 41 (Room TBA)

Friday August 10, 2018

Photo Identification & Auto Theft Tommy Burke NYPD

0945-1000

MAIN HALL

Closing Ceremonies 31/01/2018

CHALLENGES from page 33 theft, cargo theft, international trafficking, fraud and the ever-emerging trend of vehicular terrorism (vehicles used to run down large numbers of innocent people in public places). In 2017, the IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) published its Vehicle Crimes Auto Theft Educational Awareness Report in which it stated “Many crime sprees begin with a stolen car. While anecdotal evidence abounds, uniform data collection about vehicle crimes is notoriously weak. Current data collection by law enforcement varies and vehicle crime data is APRIL/MAY 2018

often not a requirement by many agencies and police departments. Without data to prove links and trends, our argument lacks power.” And, of course, these problems are not just a North American phenomenon. We see them across the globe. This makes IAATI all that more relevant today than it was in the days of our inception (1952), especially when it comes to promoting communication among agencies and authorities everywhere and providing and sharing training for our police officers. Still, I am greatly troubled by that 22% recovery rate of heavy equipment. If we want our patrol officers to be able to check

and verify dozers, backhoes and the like, we need to provide them with appropriate and up-to-date training. Heavy equipment is a specialized field and we need to renew our efforts in this field. IAATI, as always, is up to the task. We will continue to provide first rate training to our front-line responders and to our own members so that they can go back to their departments and, in turn, train patrol officers. IAATI should not and will not rest until vehicle crime is completely eradicated which unfortunately is not likely to happen. Not as long as we have bad guys who continue to steal other people’s cars, dozers, backhoes, and sky-scooters. n 45

AUSTRALASIAN CHAPTER NEWS

IN MEMORIAM

MARK BENNEDICK by Mark Pollard, Branch President Sydney in 2008. He also had spearheaded the association’s efforts to expand in Asia. At the international level he was a strong supporter for change and modernization of the association and he served as chair of IAATI’s Certification Committee and Survey Committee. Mark’s attention to detail and his methodical approach saw IAATI grow significantly during his time as Branch President. He not only increased our membership but also strengthened our financial position and fostered stronger ties with our public and private sector partners. He raised the level of professionalism of the branch to a new level. Mark was not a person who toiled behind the scenes for recognition. He did it simply because he saw the need and was prepared to step up. However his contribution to IAATI at both the international and Branch level did not go unnoticed. In 2011 he was awarded IAATI’s President’s Award, and became the first Australasian Branch member ever to receive this award. Then in 2014, he was also awarded Life Membership by the Australasian Branch. Mark was an honest and hard-working individual who always gave 100% commitment to any task. He was a sponge for knowledge and a person who enjoyed learning and finding new and better ways of doing things. This is clearly demonstrated by his studies for his two Masters Degrees in Criminology, all the while undertaking his Suncorp and IAATI commitments, looking after his elderly mother, and finding time for his love of surfing. I always admired his contribution to IAATI but more importantly, I appreciated his friendship as a loyal mate. He is one who will be greatly missed by his IAATI family. n

MARK’S IAATI ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE:

t is with a very heavy heart that we learned of the passing of our Australasian Past President, Mark Bennedick, at his home in the early hours of October 19, 2017. Mark was heavily involved both in IAATI and at the branch level. He was our Branch’s backbone for many years. He joined IAATI in 2002 and quickly become an active member of the Branch Committee including serving as our Branch President from 2008 to 2014. Mark was instrumental in the growth and development of IAATI over the last 10 years. He played a vital role in the success of the joint IAATI/Australasian Branch conference held in 46

2002

Joined IAATI

2006 Committee Member, Australasian Branch 2007

Vice President, Australasian Branch

2008 - 2014

President, Australasian Branch

2010 - 2013

Director, IAATI

2014 - 2016 Executive Director, Australasian Branch 2011

Awarded IAATI’s President’s Award

2014

Awarded Life Membership THE APB

BRANCH PRESIDENT - MARK POLLARD

A TRIBUTE TO A GOOD FRIEND MARK BENNEDICK By John O’Byrne (IAATI and Australasian Branch Past President) not just for

2011 IAATI President, Chris McDonold (left) presenting Mark with the President’s Award

Osad news that we had lost a good friend. n October 19, 2017, we woke up to the

Mark was truly part of the IAATI family and was a personal friend to most of us. His friendship dates back to time immemorial. Mark and I literally travelled the world together over a period that spanned two decades. He was committed to IAATI and to what our organization stood for. The professionalism and the achievements of our organization are a testimony to the work Mark put into it. Mark was always heavily involved in APRIL/MAY 2018

IAATI both as an IAATI Director and at the branch level. He served as the Australasian Branch President from 2008 to 2014 and was the back bone of the branch for many years. Prior to that he worked tirelessly with me in organizing the Sydney 2008 conference, for which he received little reward. We often forget that IAATI is a not-forprofit, volunteer association. The commitment by our members demonstrates the passion we have for the work we do and our own personal drive to do better,

ourselves but for others around us. These were the qualities that shone in Mark. Mark had always been hard-working and recently had to step back from IAATI to continue his studies, pursue his career with Suncorp and in all of this, achieved two Masters Degrees in Criminology. Mark is survived by his elderly mother and our thoughts and prayers go out to her for her loss. Rest in peace, Mark, dear friend. n

THE APB

International Association of Auto Theft Investigators International Training Seminar

Save the Date: August 5 -10, 2018 300 W Station Square Drive ◦ Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ◦ United States ◦ 412-261-1000

Four Days of Training including hands on workshops for only $300

Topics and training blocks include:

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUTO THEFT INVESTIGATORS

The APB P.O. Box 223 Clinton, NY 13323

APRIL/MAY 2018 • VOLUME 24, NO. 1

66TH ANNUAL IAATI TRAINING SEMINAR

PITTSBURGH TO HOST OUR 2018 IAATI TRAINING SEMINAR PICTURED

PITTSBURGH, PA: T H E A P B • APRIL/MAY 2018 • VOLUME 24, NO. 1

66TH ANNUAL TRAINING SEMINAR PAGE 6

REMEMBERING

MARK BENNEDICK PAGE 46 THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUTO THEFT INVESTIGATORS