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Smartphone Theft Drops After Spread of Kill Switches

Posted by Soulskill on from the stated-purposes-and-unstated-purposes dept.

alphadogg writes "Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing 'kill switches' that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, authorities said on Tuesday. The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities.

3 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Parts by Arcady13 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I still see lots of people selling phones for "parts" and quietly noting that the device is locked and they somehow don't have the password. So people are obviously still stealing phones without knowing they can't actually use them.

    1. Re:Parts by mlts · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This is definitely lucrative, especially around the time when a new iPhone rev comes out and people start breaking/bending their latest device. Even a disabled phone still has an intact screen/digitizer that can go for a C-note or two until the market starts getting cheaper ones in.

      In one criminal justice class, this is a common MO for high dollar stolen goods... if the item can't be sold, the parts can. For example, a stolen high-end Cannondale bicycle may not be able to be sold as a gestalt due to the serial number being in a police database, but part out the fork, shifting group, brakes, and other items, and a fence can still obtain a good chunk of change from all that even if the frame is never used.

      I'm glad the fact that phones being disabled has helped slow down device theft, but I don't think it will go away anytime soon, just because the demand for parts is always there.

  2. Wider effects by leehwtsohg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The killswitches seem to have a much wider effects than realised by these insightful articles.
    Murder rate at the same time in San Francisco
    http://www.sfgate.com/crime/ar...
    and New York
    http://gothamist.com/2015/01/0...
    seem to have also decined!