Car theft is a growing concern in Jamaica, where thousands of vehicles are reported stolen every year. Jamaican residents and companies have turned to TerraTrace, a new vehicle-tracking GPS technology developed by a company called Archetype.

The TerraTrace system uses a compact GPS tracking device that is embedded inside your vehicle. The tracking module transmits the vehicle's position over GSM cellular networks to a central server where authorized users can view the vehicle's location and movement on a digital roadmap. The system also automatically records data for historical playback, providing court-admissible evidence of the car's movements.

A major Jamaican security company, Hawkeye Electronic Security, has used the technology in collaboration with Jamaican law enforcement to quickly locate and recover stolen cars. Hawkeye has installed the system for individuals and companies and reports that TerraTrace has already played a critical role in recovering two stolen rental vehicles. In the first case, a rental car from Montego Bay reported missing was tracked by TerraTrace in Linstead, about 100 miles away. Police were able to recover the car a few hours later. Another car, stolen in Kingston, was located and recovered in less than 2 hours.

TerraTrace is also available for U.S. companies through Archetype's Web site.

To read more GPS news, click here.