[Semi-OT] Denver Police giving out Air Tags and Smart Tags to cut car thefts

Your tax dollars are paying for it, so you may as well go get one ...
    Denver Police Department Hands Out Free AirTags
    in Hope of Cutting Auto Thefts
    -----------------------------------------------
    The Denver, Colorado Police Department has started a new program,
    handing out free AirTags to Denver drivers to hide in their
    vehicles in the hopes of reducing vehicle thefts, reports
    Mactrast.
    The AirTag has proven to be a valuable tool in the war on crime,
    and it has regularly assisted police in recovering several stolen
    cars (and other stolen items) and making arrests, thanks to the
    AirTag's ability to reveal the location of the tracker, which is
    usually in the same location as the stolen vehicles.
    The Denver Police Department's DenverTrack program has begun
    handing out Apple AirTags and Samsung SmartTags to drivers to
    hide in their vehicles. The new program will initially hand out
    450 free tracking tags between March 19 and 21. The AirTags and
    SmartTags are provided by the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention
    Authority.
    <https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Police-Department/Safety-and-Crime-Prevention/Auto-Theft-Prevention>     Vehicle owners register for the program using a form to provide
    information about their vehicle and any built-in GPS tracking or
    third-party tracking devices they already use. A report is
    generated, and an email is sent to the vehicle's owner confirming
    the vehicle's registration and providing a permanent case report
    number.
    A DenverTrack decal will also be sent to the vehicle owner by mail,
    which can be placed in the vehicle's window.
       "DenverTrack registration preauthorizes the Denver Police
        Department to work with GPS information, provided by a
        vehicle owner, when a vehicle is reported stolen. Vehicle
        owners are responsible for ensuring their GPS or other
        tracking device is maintained and serviceable. In the
        unfortunate event a vehicle is stolen, the vehicle owner
        is responsible for providing the location of their
        vehicle to responding officers. To accomplish this, the
        vehicle owner contacts their GPS service provider or
        accesses their Bluetooth tracker app and shares that
        location in real-time with officers. In certain
        situations, officers may work with victims to get verbal
        consent for their tracking service to give real-time
        updates to officers. At no point are officers able to
        access any GPS or track/tag system directly. A DenverTrack
        decal is mailed after registration and should be placed on
        the vehicle's driver side window as a deterrent,
        advertising to thieves that the car will be tracked if
        it's stolen."
    Drivers who don't have a tracking system built into their vehicle
    and who don't own an AirTag or a SmartTag can sign up for an
    in-person registration event.
    If a vehicle registered in the program is stolen, the owner can call
    911 to report it and confirm that it's registered in the DenverTrack
    program. The police will then work with the driver to access the
    vehicle's built-in tracking system or track the AirTag or other
    brand tracking tile.
    While registering the vehicle with the program "preauthorizes the
    Denver Police Department to work with GPS information," it does not
    grant automatic access to the vehicle's location information.
    Officers cannot view the location of an AirTag unless the owner
    shares that information via their iPhone's Find My app.
    <https://www.idropnews.com/news/denver-police-department-hands-out-free-airtags-in-hope-of-cutting-auto-thefts/242300/>