ABILENE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Crime Prevention Unit

In November 1993, the Abilene Police Department began participating in a state-wide crime prevention program called Help End Auto Theft, or H.E.A.T. This is an auto theft prevention program developed by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority wherein registered vehicles display a sticker on their front and rear windshields notifying authorities that the vehicle is not normally driven between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. If spotted on a public street between these hours, the vehicle may be stopped by police on the suspicion that it may be stolen.

The drive of this program is, first, to deter thieves from stealing a registered vehicle and, second, to intercept a stolen vehicle as it is driven in the early morning hours.

The Community Services Division is responsible for the implementation of H.E.A.T. in Abilene. We register the vehicle, then forward a copy of the registration to the D.P.S. Our police officers and D.P.S. troopers state-wide have access to the registration information and are authorized to stop any registered vehicle between the specified times.

Our division is the only location in this area where vehicles may be registered in H.E.A.T. To do so, vehicle owners bring their automobiles and required information to the LEC during normal business hours.

 Note: From 1990 to 1993, our department sponsored a program called C.A.T., or Combat Auto Theft. That program is superseded by H.E.A.T., and is gradually being phased out. C.A.T. decals are still recognized locally, but all new registrants are placed in the H.E.A.T. program.