On Saturday, August 4, 1990, Los Angeles police arrested a suspected car thief and recovered a stolen car in their first opportunity to use the new LoJack stolen vehicle recovery system. The recovered car, a 1990 BMW convertible, was found in excellent condition, with only minor ignition lock damage.

Activation of the LoJack homing device allowed police not only to track, locate, and recover the stolen automobile, but also to make the arrest. The vehicle was being driven by the auto theft suspect and was located by police near the L.A. airport. The recovery process took 70 minutes from the time the LoJack transponder was activated.

Los Angeles police picked up the silent radio frequency signal from the LoJack transponder with tracking computers in their patrol cars. The suspect, who also had outstanding warrants for other law violations, was pulled over without incident, and arrested for grand theft auto.

The county-wide Stolen Vehicle Recovery Network (SVRN) was announced as operational at a multi-agency press conference July 24, 1990, led by Chief Edward Gomez of the California Highway Patrol and Chief LloydWood, president of the L.A. County Police Chiefs Association. More than 445 police patrol cars are equipped with tracking devices throughout the county.