National Public Radio says:
Some crime experts believe portable GPS systems and iPods are crimogenic -- that is, they can actually create crimes.
The
devices are portable and easy to steal, and they give more bang for the
buck -- in the pawnshop and on the street -- than the haul from the
average car break-in.
"[Thieves] probably have to steal six car
radios to get the return from stealing a GPS," says John Roman, a
criminal justice researcher with the Urban Institute. "So for them,
it's worth finding one."
Most cities don't have the manpower or money to go after GPS thieves.
And
what's more, most portable electronics owners make the cops' job
harder. Many owners don't bother to register their GPS devices with the
manufacturer -- or even write down the serial number.
So even if the cops catch a guy with 25 GPS systems in his backseat, there's no way to prove the goods were stolen.
There are solutions on the way.
GadgetTrak, for example, is a system that lets you track your stolen gadgets.
GadgetTrak embeds code on your gadgets. Once someone hooks up the iPod, GPS or any other device to a computer, the software launches and tells GadgetTrak where the hot item is. If the computer has a camera, it even turns the cameras on so GadgetTrak can see who is operating it. Cool.
