Is There An iCrime Wave?
The proliferation of iPods might have triggered a recent surge in crime, according to a new report from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The FBI recently released statistics showing that violent crime increased in 2005 and 2006.
"The gadgets are not just entertaining and convenient; their high value, visibility, and versatility make them 'criminogenic' -- or 'crime-creating' … And their power to distract users can give thieves an advantage," authors John Roman and Aaron Chalfin suggest.
The pair notes that robberies were up 3.9 percent in 2005 and 6.8 percent in 2006, while theft overall declined by 6 percent and auto theft fell 5 percent. Youth robbery arrests jumped 11 percent in 2005 and 21 percent in 2006 and adult robbery arrests rose only 1 percent in 2005 and 5 percent the following year.
The popularity of iPods among young people may make it a target for juvenile offenders, they wrote, noting that an outbreak of iPod-targeted muggings would be consistent with statistics. Empirical data in that realm are limited, but anecdotal evidence is mounting.
In the first three months of 2005, major felonies rose 18 percent on New York City's subways; but if iPod and cellular phone thefts are excluded, felonies actually decreased by 3 percent. In Washington, in the first four months of 2007, iPod subway robberies accounted for 4 percent of all robberies citywide, compared with under 1 percent in 2005.
Update: Washington's Fox 5/WTTG picked up this story after Tech Daily Dose [watch video]. Meanwhile, the city's Metro Transit Police released a list of tips to keep commuters safe while enjoying music on buses and trains. Read that list here.
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