Police give students tips on stopping player thefts

Debora Sardaneta
News Reporter

IPods are a popular accessory and according to Detective Izzy Bernardo of 14 Division, they have become a target for thieves.
 “It has been a bad month for iPod thefts in the city,” said Bernardo. “IPod theft has been pretty steady since they have come out.”
Det. Bernardo said police found a surge in iPod thefts at the beginning of the school year. He said the majority of street robberies with young people involve iPods or some type of electronic device.
However, this doesn’t mean students should not be careful. Const. Rob McDonald of 55 Division said because iPods aren’t really traceable, often thefts do happen.
“Subways and areas where young people hang out is where we have seen a rise in iPod thefts and robberies and when there’s a lot of congregation of young people, that’s where young people should be careful,” he said.
Police said students should be careful when travelling on the bus or walking to and from school.
“We recommend that people switch the noticeable white earplugs to something less obvious, like black colour ones to lessen their odds of becoming a target,” said Bernardo.
Director of Public Safety at Humber, Gary Jeynes, said theft of electronic property is very low on campus.
“There are no reports of iPod thefts at Humber,” he said.
McDonald said people should think about the consequences before trying to resist an iPod mugging.
“Is the  $130 iPod worth broken bones?” McDonald asked. “People have to use their own judgement.”
Humber student Denis Wong said, “I usually keep my iPod in my back pocket, I don’t really think someone will try to take it from me, but I think if I was put in that situation I would just give it up,” he said.
Ken Westin founder of GadgetTrak said iPod thefts have been rising. He said electronic devices are getting smaller and more valuable, more data can be stored in them and the data also becomes useful.  “It’s easy for thieves to sell at pawn shops or in the black market, and it’s easy to take away from someone because they’re so small,” he said.
GadgetTrak is a company that manufactures anti-theft products for electronic devices, including iPods. Westin said users can register their iPods on their website for a membership of $15 a year. If it is stolen and attempted to be used in a network like iTunes, the device is flagged and police are able to use that information, such as the ip address to recover the iPod.
“We have had a lot of recovery stories,” Westin said.  
 “We think we have hit a nerve, we realize there’s a need for a product like ours. Not only is this about recovering the iPods stolen, but it keeps people safe, it allows them to give that device up without fighting the attacker, knowing that they have a chance at recovering it.”