Minneapolis police have had an advantage on car thieves for 12 years âÄî by beating them at their own game.

A program with what police call “bait cars” begins when police park decoys all over the city. Then police wait until a thief hotwires one of the cars and takes off, only to be tracked down immediately using in-car GPS.

In the 12 years since they pioneered the program, Minneapolis police have charged more than 340 people for attempting to steal a bait car. Only one person has ever tried to fight the charges in court.

“ThatâÄôs quite remarkable in law enforcement and criminal justice,” said Robert Henderson, president of the Anti Vehicle Crime Association of Minnesota. The group recognized the Minneapolis Police DepartmentâÄôs bait car program this summer for its help in combating auto theft in the city.

ItâÄôs no surprise that the accused donâÄôt contest the charges, because in addition to being arrested in the stolen car, the whole act is also recorded on the hidden dashboard camera.

In the videos it isnâÄôt uncommon to hear the thieves wondering whether the car that theyâÄôre in is a setup car, Henderson said.

For every thief caught in one of these anonymous autos, countless others avoid stealing a car altogether. Since the program began, auto theft went down 68.2 percent, according to AVCAM, and Minneapolis saw a 37 percent decrease in the first six months of the program.

The cars themselves are a closely guarded secret.

When Officer Wayne Johnson teaches other departments how to implement the program, he emphasizes the importance of never revealing the number of cars in use or their makes and models.

“WeâÄôre already chasing them, and if we give away all our secrets on everything it just makes it that much harder to chase them,” said Johnson, who helped start the program. “They just get that much more of a head start.”

Henderson, however, estimates that a city the size of Minneapolis probably uses at least 25 cars. As for the models? Probably many of the same cars that show up on AVCAMâÄôs most stolen cars list, like a 1994 Honda Accord or a 1995 Honda Civic, he said.

“I want people to believe theyâÄôre on every corner,” Johnson said. “ThatâÄôs the goal.”