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Smartphones Driving Violent Crime Across US
alphadogg writes "Incidents of cellphone theft have been rising for several years and are fast becoming an epidemic. IDG News Service collected data on serious crimes in San Francisco from November to April and recorded 579 thefts of cellphones or tablets, accounting for 41 percent of all serious crime. In just over half the incidents, victims were punched, kicked or otherwise physically intimidated for their phones, and in a quarter of robberies, users were threatened with guns or knives. This isn't just happening in tech-loving San Francisco, either. The picture is similar across the United States. A big reason for such thefts, until recently, is that there had been little to stop someone using a stolen cellphone. Reacting to pressure from law enforcement and regulators, the U.S.'s largest cellphone carriers agreed early last year to establish a database of stolen cellphones."
We should enact more stringent controls for cellphone ownership. These cell nuts going around with their smartphones putting us all in danger. What do you need a 30 app mag for realistically. How am i supposed to be safe when any criminal/cell nut can just pull out their cellphone and thats it, bang, im dead.
Such a stupid situation that could be solved easily.
If the carriers had a service for the owner to remotely brick and unbrick the phone as well as transfer ownership (with the ability to brick) to another person this would be a non-issue.
It's a service that makes owning the phone more valuable to the end-user; yet, it's an externality to the phone companies. Rather than provide the best possible product and services, they do the barest minimum and reap unjustly high profits. They can do this because they operate out of the normal reach of capitalism - the state-sponsored monopoly. With a stranglehold on public property and the blessings of their government lawmakers, they can do pretty-much whatever they want. Capitalism has failed, therefore we need more government regulation.
That should greatly shorten this discussion. Did I miss any memes?
Sorry, cell phone theft is not serious crime. Serious crime is genocide, murder, rape, molesting children, kidnapping, torture, etc.
Sticking a gun in somebody's face, threatening them with a knife, or beating them are serious crimes. The others you listed are more serious but this isn't some case of some iPhanboi having an emotional breakdown because his iToys were stolen, if you read TFA you'd notice a great mean of these robberies are armed, involve physical violence, or the direct threat of it. Maybe that isn't "serious" where you come from, but if it isn't, you have my sympathies. Let me know if you need me to recommend a good realtor.
Who did what now?
Already have everything needed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMEI And it is not trivial to change.
There's no real excuse for punching someone or threatening them with violence when taking their smartphone.
If they are making a call while the rest of us are trying to watch the movie, I think this treatment should be mandatory.