They do have bait cars, but like the idiots that they are, they also have large, flashing signs say "WARNING, BAIT CARS BEING USED IN THIS AREA".
I kid you not.
Some jury or judge ruled “bait cars” to be entrapment, so one cholo got charges dropped. I guess the stupid sign is considered the remedy?
Which deters thieves in that area, cuz they don't know what's what.
That being said, I have a co-worker who didn't learn his lesson the first time his car was stolen here in Albuquerque. He left it running and went back into his house for his briefcase. Not more than 30 seconds, and it was gone. That car disappeared. No luck in tracking it. His replacement vehicle was also stolen a few months later, because he did the same damned thing.
That vehicle was found within a few days and returned, thankfully not destroyed.
I think he learned his lesson on the second one. Maybe his was a "lightning-doesn't-strike-twice" kind of mentality.