Authorities say that cellphone carriers and manufacturers are coming up short when it comes to thefts involving their products, according to the New York Times.
Officials say that a new database for stolen phones is not doing enough to deter cellphone thefts. The database was made to track an identifying number of the phone and stop its activation. This measure is meant to give thieves one less reason to steal.
However, authorities say the database is insufficient partly because a substantial amount of phones end up overseas. Once the phones are overseas the database has no effect on them. Also its fairly easy to change the indentifying numbers.
According to law enforcement, the larger problem is with the cellphones’ carriers and makers.
“The carriers are not innocent in this whole game. They are making profit off this,” said Cathy L. Lanier, chief of the police department of the District of Columbia. In D.C., a record 1,829 cellphones were taken in robberies last year.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón suggests that cellphone manufacturers like Apple should be looking to create new, innovative ways to hinder handset thefts. According to Gascón, he met with the Apple executive in charge of government relations, Michael Foulkes, to discuss possible solutions. However, he left with no guarantee from Apple of any initiative to stop thefts.
“Unlike other types of crimes, this is a crime that could be easily fixed with a technological solution,” Gascón said.
The cellphone industry is one of the most lucrative and growing industries in the United States. However, the rise of cellphone sales is being followed by the rise of cellphone thefts.
In San Francisco, almost half of all robberies in 2012 were of a cellphone. In Washington that number was a record 42 percent. In New York, 14 percent of crimes were the robbery of an iPhone or iPad.
Auto thefts used to be a rising trend. However, an increasing number of cars have been equipped with anti-theft technology.
“If you look at auto theft, it has really plummeted in this country because technology has advanced so much and the manufacturers recognize the importance of it,” said Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum Chuck Wexler. The Police Executive Research Forum is a nonprofit group focused on improving police techniques. “The cellphone industry has for the most part been in denial. For whatever reasons, it has been slow to move.”
Some manufacturers and cellphone carriers say they have taken steps to discourage thefts. Verizon says it has its own database which performs similar functions to the previously mentioned database. Apple’s "Find My iPhone" app is able to locate an iPhone and erase its data. However, the app doesn’t work if the thief turns off the phone and disconnects it from the Internet.
Google doesn’t provide any service for locating stolen Android phones although there are some apps on Google Play which provide a service that locates stolen phones.
Gascón says there should be a sort of “kill switch” to shut off the phone no matter the circumstance.
According to Edward Santos Jr., a police lieutenant who investigates robberies, a stolen phone goes for around $400 to $500 in cash in the resale market.
Officials maintain that technology which makes a cellphone near impossible to use once its reported stolen would be a huge step in deterring cellphone thefts.
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