When Using Your iPod, Beware Of Crime
Commercials for Apple’s iPod are notable for their dancing silhouettes and upbeat music.
But they may also give insight into how criminals see iPod users.
John Roman, a researcher at the Urban Institute, says, “If somebody wants it, they can tell very easily that you have it.”
Researchers at the Urban Institute say the iPod and other digital media devices may be causing a crime wave.
John Roman says, “Carrying an iPod, which is so expensive, which is so easy for a potential robber to see, is sort of the equivalent of walking around with several hundred dollars poking out of your pockets.”
The increase in “iCrime” is largely anecdotal. Recently-released FBI statistics show a spike in robberies and juvenile arrests during the past two years.
After years of decline, subway commuters in urban areas such as New York and Washington, D.C., have seen significant increases in iPod muggings since 2005.
This mirrors an explosion of iPod sales during the same time period.
John Roman says, “They’re very expensive, so lots of people who’d like to have them can’t afford them, so one of the way to go about acquiring them is, of course, to steal it.”
Still, iPod users have mixed opinions about the problem.
Roman says Apple is not responsible for creating crime, just excitement about its products.
John Roman says, “As we have more of these really, these hot new technologies in the marketplace, we’re going to see more little crime waves like this.”
Good advice until the next gadget fad comes out.
Roman says part of the problem is that people don’t pay attention to their surroundings when they have their headphones in. That makes them sitting ducks for thieves.
One precaution consumers can take is to swap Apple’s white earbuds for some other, less recognizable headphones for your iPod.
source: ksdk.com