Showing posts with label iphone theft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iphone theft. Show all posts

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Violent iPhone Theft in Ward 3

These two robberies occurred yesterday, within fifteen minutes of each other.  Here are the crime reports from the Metropolitan Police Department:

On February 23, 2011, at approximately 7:00 PM, the victim was walking in the 5900 block of Nebraska Avenue when a dark-colored vehicle pulled alongside the victim and asked if the victim had a cell phone. The victim said "no." The perpetrators struck the victim about the body with their fists and removed personal property from the victim's pants pocket. The perpetrators fled the scene in the dark-colored vehicle with unknown make, model and tag numbers. No weapon was displayed during this robbery.

On February 23, 2011, at approximately 7:15 PM, the victim exited their vehicle in the 6600 block of 31st Street, when the victim was approached by a dark-colored vehicle. The occupants of the dark-colored vehicle asked the victim for directions. The perpetrators exited the vehicle and approached the victim and commenced to striking the victim about the body with their fists. One of the perpetrators demanded the victim's car keys. The victim complied. The perpetrator attempted to take the victim's vehicle but was unsuccessful. The suspects re-entered the dark-colored vehicle and fled the scene. No weapon was displayed during this robbery.

The Second District has increased police patrols in this neighborhood.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

How to Catch a Cellphone Thief: A True Story

A couple of months ago I wrote about how to use a smartphone's technology to track and catch an iPhone (or other smartphone) thief. It's a simple and either free of very low-cost solution: Get an app for your smartphone that lets you track it. Apple recently made this feature free for all iPhone users.

And guess what's happening? Stolen smartphones are being recovered and crooks captured. A carjacker in New Jersey was caught by the police in just 7 minutes last week because the car's owner had left his Droid phone in his car. Moments after his car was stolen, the victim went to his laptop, went to the password-protected website through which he could track his phone, called the police and gave the police the precise location where they could find the armed carjacker.

Everyone who has a smartphone should get a tracking app and deploy it. Be sure to note your tracking app's logon information, including the website you need to go to, username and password. Smartphone thefts are on the upswing and this is a great way to capture the bad guys.