Did iPods Cause a Crime Wave?
BOSTON – It’s easy to see why iPods would be alluring targets for criminals: The music players are valuable and easy to resell, and people absorbed in their personal soundtracks can be vulnerably oblivious to their surroundings. But could the temptation for stealing iPods be so strong that they’re behind an increase in the crime rate? Researchers at a public policy institute say yes. They argue that the tantalizing gadgets are perhaps the main reason U.S. violent crime rose in 2005 and 2006 after declining every year since 1991 – although a close look at the findings suggests the hypothesis has holes. The Urban Institute, a Washington think tank, first raised the subject of an “iCrime wave” last September, and held a panel discussion Tuesday to explore it further. The researchers don’t blame iPod maker Apple Inc. or any other device maker for crime, but they do say consumers should demand technologies that would render stolen gadgets useless. Apple – which has explored anti-theft locks
