Reported theft of video game systems, digital cameras, computers and other high-end consumer electronics popular as holiday gifts has soared in the past three years, even as overall property crime has fallen.
FBI data show theft of video game systems, such as Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation, jumped 285% over three years, to 42,615 in 2009. Computer laptops reported stolen rose 32%, to 128,280 in 2009.
The holiday season is prime time for theft of electronics, FBI Special Agent Jason Pack says.
"Local and state police officers routinely see a spike in these type of crimes during the holiday season," Pack says. "Stolen electronics are easily sold on the street for quick cash."
Property crime, which includes thefts of electronics, dropped from 10 million thefts in 2006 to 9.8 million in 2008, the latest year available for the overall FBI data. The report on gadgets is based on annual data covering the period Nov. 1 to Oct. 31.
The FBI provided the consumer electronics theft data at the request of Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees law enforcement. He said he sought the data after constituents told him about having their electronics stolen.
As the devices become smaller, "they seem to become bigger targets for theft," Weiner says. "It's the omnipresent, miniature electronics crime paradox: Even as crime goes down, when you have more electronics, you have more theft."
Weiner says he will propose a law to create a database of each cellphone's identifying code. The legislation would require cell service providers to block re-registration of a stolen phone, making it useless to thieves.
More than 106,000 cellphones were stolen this year, a 5% drop since such thefts spiked in 2007, the year Apple launched its iPhone, FBI data show.
"Criminals are rational. They steal things that have high value, are easily transportable and easily sold," says Larry J. Siegel, a criminologist at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. "The most expensive thing in my house is my refrigerator, but nobody is trying to steal my refrigerator."
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ahh the curse of making things small, the smaller they get the easier it is to steal them.
FBI data show theft of video game systems, such as Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation, jumped 285% over three years, to 42,615 in 2009. Computer laptops reported stolen rose 32%, to 128,280 in 2009.
The holiday season is prime time for theft of electronics, FBI Special Agent Jason Pack says.
"Local and state police officers routinely see a spike in these type of crimes during the holiday season," Pack says. "Stolen electronics are easily sold on the street for quick cash."
Property crime, which includes thefts of electronics, dropped from 10 million thefts in 2006 to 9.8 million in 2008, the latest year available for the overall FBI data. The report on gadgets is based on annual data covering the period Nov. 1 to Oct. 31.
The FBI provided the consumer electronics theft data at the request of Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees law enforcement. He said he sought the data after constituents told him about having their electronics stolen.
As the devices become smaller, "they seem to become bigger targets for theft," Weiner says. "It's the omnipresent, miniature electronics crime paradox: Even as crime goes down, when you have more electronics, you have more theft."
Weiner says he will propose a law to create a database of each cellphone's identifying code. The legislation would require cell service providers to block re-registration of a stolen phone, making it useless to thieves.
More than 106,000 cellphones were stolen this year, a 5% drop since such thefts spiked in 2007, the year Apple launched its iPhone, FBI data show.
"Criminals are rational. They steal things that have high value, are easily transportable and easily sold," says Larry J. Siegel, a criminologist at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. "The most expensive thing in my house is my refrigerator, but nobody is trying to steal my refrigerator."
more here
ahh the curse of making things small, the smaller they get the easier it is to steal them.
