Electronic Tracking Systems Inc

Police departments in Orange County and other major metropolitan areas have begun using a sophisticated electronic system to track suspected bank robbers and other felony suspects as they try to make their escape. Since the system was installed in the county last fall, the FBI and local authorities have used it to apprehend at least five suspected bank robbers, including the so-called "Tijuana bandit" who is alleged to have robbed seven local banks.

Police departments in Orange County and other major metropolitan areas have begun using a sophisticated electronic system to track suspected bank robbers and other felony suspects as they try to make their escape. Since the system was installed in the county last fall, the FBI and local authorities have used it to apprehend at least five suspected bank robbers, including the so-called "Tijuana bandit" who is alleged to have robbed seven local banks.

An electronic tracking device more widely known for getting the drop on bank robbers won praise Monday from executives of a home improvement store chain, a day after two suspects were caught with money allegedly stolen at gunpoint from one of the company's outlets. "It worked as it was supposed to work, and we're very thankful that our associates inside the store were not injured," said Ron Clark, assistant vice president with Builder's Emporium in Irvine.

A federal trial began Tuesday for a man accused of bank robbery who was nabbed with help from a new high-tech tracking device--an instrument whose workings law enforcement officials are trying to keep secret and prosecutors have asked not be revealed in open court. Since its introduction in Orange County in fall of 1989, the electronic tracking system has been used to catch at least six people suspected of bank robbery and other felony suspects.