Apple's iPhone and iPad are not the favorites of technology savvy consumers, but they are also the favorites of criminals in New York.
According to the New York Police Department, more than 8,000 theft of Apple mobile products were recorded back in 2013. Interestingly enough, that number is more than 18 percent of all the grand larcenies reported to the police department in all of 2013. To put things into perspective, only 25 grand larcenies were reported back in 2002, a year after Apple launched the first iPod.
So widespread are the theft of Apple products that the NYPD has chosen to track the brand itself, and many thefts of Apple products happen on public transportation where individuals are more focused on their iDevice rather than their surroundings, says retired NYPD detective Joseph Giacalone.
When it comes down to finding the crooks, it isn't easy because most victims don't have the time to look at mugshots. Moreover, several thieves usually avoid jail time by pleading guilty to lesser charges. If this is the case, new laws must be put in place so that crooks face the full wrath of the law when they commit these foul acts.
"You'd have a spike in crime when some new thing came along: Michael Jordan sneakers or leather jackets...Walkmans, a new technology," said Eugene O'Donnell, a former NYPD officer who lectures at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "Just about everybody now has a hand-held mobile device that can be taken."
There is a minor solution to this problem, though. Apple has a service called "Find My iPhone" in the form of an app. It allows the owner to track and lock his/her stolen iPhone or iPad. With the iPhone 5s, Apple has added a fingerprint scanner on the device for security reasons, and also a new security measure in iOS 7 where a thief must first know the user's Apple account log-in credentials to use the phone, even if the device is wiped clean.
Will this work? Time will tell. However, for the moment, it is up to users to be more aware of their surroundings to keep themselves and their devices safe from harm. Especially iPhones and iPads.
