Bob Sullivan writes "The Red Tape Chronicles," one of the better blogs that I read. One of his most recent posts is the product of thieves stealing his electronic
stuff from his car. As it turns out, theft of electronic gadgets is a
growth industry these days.
Look at this chart from the FBI's 2005 Uniform Crime Report, which shows the growth of theft of gadgets from vehicles since 2000
compared to other kinds of thefts. It is not even close -- only purse-snatching has grown by almost as much.
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FBI Uniform Crime Report 2006
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By many accounts,
gadget theft from cars is on the rise. In fact, the most recent FBI
statistics indicate that while the rate of auto thefts around the
country has remained flat in recent years, gadget thefts from vehicles
rose about 30 percent from 2000 to 2004. And why not? Our cars have
become rolling offices. My cigarette lighter now rivals the back of my
stereo in its spaghetti-like appearance. By my recent count, I have in
my car on a typical day better than 10 gadgets clogging up my cup
holders:
- A cell phone, with car charger.
- A satellite radio, its antenna and its power adapter.
- My iPod, its car charger and its FM modulator.
- A
power inverter, in case I need to use my laptop or recharge my digital
camera.
- And, once upon a time, I had a GPS device and its mount.
When you consider
that I have about $2,000 worth of music on my iPod, a car gadget thief
could strike gold by rummaging through my seats. And given all those
wires, it's pretty easy for any casual window shopper to see that my
car doubles as an electronics store for criminals.
Gadget thieves do just this kind of shopping, says Fred Corrubia,
chief of police in Paramus, N.J. Situated just outside New York City,
Paramus is home to one of America's
densest collections of shopping malls. And earlier this year, the city
was hit by a rash of GPS thefts at mall parking lots -- 43 units stolen
during three weeks in January alone. The problem became so severe that
Corrubia set up a GPS theft task force and engineered a sting to catch
gadget thieves.
"It's a crime of convenience," Corrubia says. "It takes nothing to remove them. ... We were getting killed by this."
In many cases, the
chief says, gadget criminals don't even have to break car windows. On a
recent parking lot tour, he found a half-dozen car doors left unlocked,
with gadgets sitting in plain view.
"We saw a car with
two booster seats in the back, doors unlocked," he says. "Obviously
that woman had something else on her mind."
Corrubia caught an alleged crook in his sting. The suspect told Paramus
investigators that he was getting about $100 apiece for stolen GPS
units. Most of them end up in discount electronics stores in Manhattan
10 miles to the east, where they are often sold as new, he said.
Sophisticated criminals get their hands on contraband packaging and
manuals, twin them with stolen gadgets, and sell them for 50 percent
off the new price. A tidy profit for both thief and fence.
USA Today had a piece about gadget theft in June. That piece added even more insight:
The
most recent crime statistics show that motor vehicle theft last year
remained nearly the same as in 2004. But thefts of parts and
accessories from vehicles, including high-intensity xenon headlights
and Global Positioning System devices, has jumped 30 percent since 2000, the
FBI reports.
Such
thefts -- 1.78 million of them -- were the fastest-growing category of
larceny in 2004, the most recent year for which a breakdown is
available. That trend has continued over the past year in several
places, including Dallas; Arlington, Va.; Hackensack, N.J.; and Orange County, Calif.
"We've started to see a pattern," says Mary Garrand, crime analyst for police in Alexandria, Va.,
where thieves have stolen more than two dozen GPS units from parked
cars this year. "GPS in particular is the new story. They are being
targeted."
Thefts
from cars of iPods, BlackBerries, portable DVD players and other
devices also are increasing. Such thefts increased about 10 percent from 2000
to 2004 to about 642,000 incidents, according to the FBI's annual
estimate.
Global
positioning systems use space satellites to plot a vehicle's precise
position and to help drivers navigate unfamiliar routes. Many are small
enough to fit in a coat pocket and can be attached by suction cups to a
windshield or dashboard. They range in price from $500 to over $2,600.
Xenon
headlights project a high-intensity beam and retail for about $1,500 a
set. They are often seen on late-model Mercedes Benzes, Audis and
Nissans.
Experts
say thefts of vehicles have declined as tracking devices and
radio-controlled ignition locks have become standard features. At the
same time, radios and other devices that thieves used to target have
become less desirable. Manufacturers, says former FBI agent Frank
Scafidi, now can program radios to work only in the vehicle in which
they are originally installed.
We covered GPS thefts in May in Al's Morning Meeting.
For more resources from that column, click here.
Freeway Bloggers
The Boston Globe
ran a piece about protesters who, rather than using the Internet, still
prefer to paint signs on cardboard or bed sheets and hang the messages
from freeway bridges. Whether protesting the Iraq war or making a
political statement, the so-called "highway blogs" are cheap and reach
a lot of people quickly.
One highway blogger runs a Web site, freewayblogging.com, which says that highway bloggers have now moved
nationwide, having started in California. He gives tips on how to reach
thousands of people for a few bucks.
Here are links to freeway blogger groups in several states. Most of them appear sparsely used. Most require you to sign up.
One group said:
Waiting
around for the media to print your letter or cover your protest doesn't
work anymore: when you can reach 50,000 motorists with 25 cents worth
of cardboard and paint, you effectively become the media.
The Death of Front-Porch Culture
This summer, NPR's All Things Considered
is exploring the culture of the front porch and what it means to how we
live when so many homes now are built without porches. For hundreds of
years, porches have been key to how we congregate and interact with our
families and neighbors. But now, air conditioners, TVs and computers
pull us inside our homes.
How Secure is Earnest Money?
KPNX-TV in Phoenix is tracking a story about how people who put up earnest money for new homes risk losing that money if the builder goes under. (Here is the video
of the story.)
This story may have real implications for many
communities as builders are unable to complete condo projects because
they simply can't sell the high-priced condos in a cooling market. In Arizona,
the story says, a builder is not obligated to put the earnest money
into a secure account. That seems incredible to me.
What is your state's
law on this? Click here for links to your state's real estate commission Web site.
Purified Ice Cubes
Think of it as frozen bottled water: purified ice.
Why should you care? The Aqua Ice people say:
Is ice a "food" product?
Yes. Ice is defined as a food in U.S.
health standards. Ice manufacturing companies should follow GMPs (Good
Manufacturing Practices), safe packaging and storage procedures.
Can Ice make you sick?
Absolutely. The University of Texas
found that salmonella, E. coli and shigella all survive frozen in ice
cubes. Even if the ice is subsequently mixed with 85-proof tequila, the
bacteria and viruses can survive.
In 1987, 5,000 people fell ill after consuming contaminated ice in
soft drink and alcoholic beverages in an outbreak in Pennsylvania and
Delaware. Norovirus was the culprit.
How safe is the ice I get at restaurants and convenience stores?
If
they follow good [sanitation] practices there should be no problem.
According to CNN, however, most municipal health inspectors only check
for general cleanliness in a food establishment. Very few cities
actually ever test the purity of the ice being served.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas,
edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites,
as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes
directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be
provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends
upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors
and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
