NYPD & Apple cooperate to track down stolen iDevices, even outside of New York

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
A new profile on iPhone and iPad theft in New York City reveals that the city's police department cooperates directly with Apple to track down thieves.

NYPD detectives attempt to obtain the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number of any stolen device, and then pass that number along to Apple according to a story published on Friday by the New York Post. Once Apple has the IMEI number, it then attempts to track the device's current location and share it with the NYPD, even if the iPhone or cellular-connected iPad is now registered with a different wireless provider.

NYPD
NYPD sign up customers at Apple's Fifth Ave store Friday. Photo via Gothamist.


The tracking done by Apple and law enforcement isn't restricted to the Big Apple, either. One stolen iPad was tracked to the Dominican Republic, and recovered by an NYPD intelligence officer in Santo Domingo.

Officials hope to not only track down the stolen goods, but also bust thieves who have elaborate reselling operations. In another example provided, the NYPD was able to track down a man selling stolen iPads at a city bus stop, thanks to help from Apple.

Late last year, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said thefts of iPhones, iPads and iPods were single-handedly accountable for an overall increase in crime in the Big Apple. The mayor revealed that if not for the increase in thefts of Apple products, total crime would have been down for the year in 2012.

Last September, a crime statistics report released by the NYPD revealed that Apple products accounted for 14 percent of all major crime in the city between Jan. 1 and Sept. 23 of 2012. That was a 40 percent increase in stolen Apple products from the same period a year prior.

In response increases in stolen Apple products, the NYPD went hands on with crowds lined up for the launch of the iPhone 5 in September. Police offers encouraged customers to register their electronics in order to potentially recover them in the event of a theft.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12


    So are the NYPD going after the thieves employed by Samesung?

     

  • Reply 2 of 12


    Originally Posted by Fotoformat View Post

    So are the NYPD going after the thieves employed by Samesung?


     


    They don't have enough handcuffs and zip ties for that.

  • Reply 3 of 12
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    I trust thieves and criminals more than analysts, biased charts and fixed surveys, if somebody is looking to get an accurate picture of what is popular or not.


     


    The fact remains that thieves want Apple devices. When the mayor of New York and the NYPD speaks about cell phone and tablet thefts, they speak about Apple products like iPhones and iPads, they don't mention anything else, because thieves aren't busy stealing Android phones. Dirtbag thieves are not completely stupid, and they are going to grab what is highly desired. Even thieves realize that an Android phone is a pretty worthless thing to steal.

  • Reply 4 of 12


    I think this article should included in both Apple & Android's (a.k.a. Samsung) next developer conference, Apple's title would be "Even thefts knows what's best". Then, Android's title will be "Our devices are anti-theft device". 

  • Reply 5 of 12

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    They don't have enough [...] zip ties for that.



     


    They're called flex-cuffs.

  • Reply 6 of 12
    fotoformat wrote: »
    So are the NYPD going after the thieves employed by Samesung? 

    Samsung has never stolen anything from Apple. /s
  • Reply 7 of 12


    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post

    They're called flex-cuffs.


     


    Hey, zip ties work in a pinch. And they pinch!

  • Reply 8 of 12
    next samsung will release shipped report for samsung phone stolen...to counter apple.
  • Reply 9 of 12


    I'd like to see something on iCloud where I could just check a box (and confirm it) so it marks my phone as lost/stolen which notifies Apple. Maybe make this part of getting AppleCare+ if they wanted to charge for it. Use some type of confirmation in case you mark it as lost/stolen by accident. 

  • Reply 10 of 12
    Nice to hear. When I lost my iPhone in my state, I walked into the police department with my MacBook Pro and a map of where the phone was and they told me to pound salt.
  • Reply 11 of 12


    Originally Posted by Obama View Post

    Nice to hear. When I lost my iPhone in my state, I walked into the police department with my MacBook Pro and a map of where the phone was and they told me to pound salt.


     


    And then you sued for damages and refusal to do their job and they were all fired, right?


     


    Because if you didn't fight it, you're worse than they are. 

  • Reply 12 of 12


    If you want to locate your phone device, i suggest you to look at location solution provided by GEO3000


     


    GEO3000 allows to track any mobile handset (on compatible networks like AT&T, Sprint, Verizon ....)


     


    There is nothing to install on phone so it works with any phone device model


     


    For my part i use it to track my phone on AT&T network


     


    Of course, there is a least a location authorization to provide (SMS to send) but then you may locate your phone any time.


     


    So if you lost it or have it stolen, this may help you :-)


     



     

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