Murrieta Company Boasts Rapid Interest in GPS Devices

New leaps and bounds are being made by a local company trying to fill the gaps in how law enforcement agencies, businesses and consumers can rely on GPS devices for day-to-day use.

Tracking System Direct, headquartered in Murrieta, distributes GPS (Global Positioning Systems) devices and systems. The company officially released its latest brainchild, SilverCloud GPS, on March 7, which it said is garnering high demand.

SilverCloud GPS is a real-time tracking system that updates a user or vehicle’s location as quickly as every 10 seconds using web-based software. The system records information about where a vehicle or person has traveled, which routes were used and departing or arriving time, amongst other key information.

While GPS devices such as SilverCloud are effective enough to be used by businesses for purposes such as fleet management, Tracking System Direct is also aiming at consumers. The device can be used by consumers such as parents who want to monitor their teenager’s driving habits or car owners protecting their vehicles from loss, said Ryan Horban, a spokesman for Tracking System Direct.

“The demand for SilverCloud was greater than we anticipated, as we now are on back order for over 50 units,” Horban said. “Today alone we had someone purchase a SilverCloud to monitor the driving activity of their 90-year-old mother."

While GPS has become a staple for companies who need to efficiently manage their vehicle inventory or track their fleets, during the last several years GPS devices have become a crime prevention and detection tool for law enforcement.

Law enforcement agencies' practice of using of GPS devices to deter or monitor criminal activity has come under heavy scrutiny.

In August, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled law enforcement officers could place GPS devices on a suspect’s car without a warrant from a judge--a ruling experts anticipate will eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Law enforcement agencies use GPS tracking as part of surveillance operations. In fact, I would say most of our business deals are with police and government agencies using GPS trackers for surveillance applications rather than to monitor their own fleet of vehicles,” Horban said.

“GPS tracking devices are really popular with the DEA as a way of following the distribution of drugs inside the United States,” he added.

But "Big Brother’s" use of technology to track citizens leaves some weary of what information is collected and stored regarding a person’s activities, said Diana Serafin, a Murrieta resident.

Serafin, who is leading an effort to halt the City of Murrieta’s use of red-light cameras, believes law enforcement’s use of technology such as GPS is another example of how a citizen’s freedom and privacy can be violated. Serafin is concerned that companies enable law enforcement with new tools that could encroach on a person’s civil freedom.

“Businesses that have trucks on the road, GPS is great for them. The dispatcher can see where they are and it also keeps the (driver) from doing side jobs on the company’s trucking time. So, there are positive things. It’s when government starts using it, that’s when we have to put the brakes on,” Serafin said.

“Everybody’s fed up with this, it’s Big Brother creating more laws,” she added.

According to Horban, Tracking System Direct places a high priority on the privacy and confidentiality of its customers.

“Occasionally, we receive customer questions regarding privacy, but at the end of the day the responsibility falls upon the end-user to use any GPS equipment responsibly. Video cameras, digital cameras and even cell phones can all be used maliciously, yet those devices carry no stigma because they are so widely used,” he said.

Tracking System Direct can store unlimited historical data from its devices on its servers, operated by an outside company, which is kept “100 percent confidential,” Horban added.

The company is now hoping to build momentum on its recent success with a promotional video the company is developing, which explains how SilverCloud works. It hopes to release the video in May.

“Technology continues to make the world smaller and safer, as people can expect to see more red-light cameras at street corners in big cities and surveillance cameras in retail shopping center parking lots, they can also expect more and more vehicles to be equipped with GPS tracking technology,” Horban said.