Apple products are hotter than ever here.
The Police Department reported yesterday that thefts of high- priced iPads, iPhones and other “iGizmos” are skyrocketing, with 15,627 swiped this year as of last Sunday.
That’s an increase of 3,890 from last year, or 33 percent.
There were so many Apple devices grabbed in robberies, larcenies and burglaries that they impacted the city’s overall crime stats.
“It’s up a touch,” Mayor Bloomberg said of the crime numbers. “But if you took out thefts of Apple products – not Galaxies, Samsungs – just Apple products, our total crime rate would be lower than it was last year.”
There were 3,484 more crimes committed this year than in 2011, according to the NYPD.
So if Apple products were stolen at the previous year’s rate of 11,737, crime overall would have gone down this year.
The mayor called on Apple users to be more conscious of their precious properties, which tend to be the priciest in their categories. A top-of-the-line iPad was selling yesterday on the Best Buy Web site for $829.99.
Bloomberg even handed out advice on how to avoid being a victim of a pickpocket looking to snatch Apple phones.
“Don’t put it in a pocket where it’s easy to take out of your pocket without you noticing it,” he recommended, speaking of smaller, handheld iPhones.
“Put it in a pocket in sort of a more body-fitting, tighter clothes that you can feel if somebody put their hand in your pocket, not just an outside coat pocket.”
Police statistics showed that the single largest increase in Apple heists was from owners’ pockets and possessions. Those spiked more than 50 percent, from 2,218 in 2011 to 3,340 this year.
Robberies – meaning the use of force or threat to steal an Apple device – jumped from 3,781 to 4,949, or nearly 31 percent.
There was also a 31 percent increase in devices purloined elsewhere, say from a desk.
Burglaries of the coveted gadgets are up from 2,446 to 3,029, or about 24 percent.
One city official said some thieves target Apple users because they are stealing to order for a thriving black market.
The NYPD is urging Apple owners to register their products so they can be traced if stolen.
In September, on the first day the new iPhone 5 went on sale, cops fanned out to six Apple shops to notify customers that they could download a free “Find my iPhone” app that would help locate missing devices.
The NYPD also said that local precinct station houses are prepared to offer an engraving service to add serial numbers on the phones so they could be more easily identified if swiped.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly first raised warning flags about Apple thefts earlier this year, when he deployed additional undercover patrols in the subways often targeted by thieves seeking the devices.
Mayor Bloomberg says thefts of Apple devices in the city are soaring compared to last year.
- 15,627 total thefts 33% increase
- 4,949 robberies 30.9% increase
- 3,340 grand larcenies from a person 50.6% increase
- 4,309 grand larcenies not from a person 30.9% increase
- 3,029 burglaries 23.8% increase
The New York Post/David Seifman
(c) 2012 The New York Post. Provided by ProQuest LLC.
