You may have seen stories about airline passengers using Apple AirTags to track down their missing luggage. Now New York City wants to use them to help find stolen cars.
PIX11 reported on Sunday, “New York City is giving away 500 Apple AirTags across the NYPD’s 43rd Precinct, which covers the southeast Bronx.”
“The area has recorded 207 car thefts since the start of 2023. Most of the thefts involve Kias, Hyundais, and Hondas,” it added.
That equates to nearly two cars stolen from the area every day since Jan. 1, 2023.
The Association for Better New York is donating the devices to the city.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said, “The number of grand larceny autos continues to drive up our crime in the city.”
“It gives the false sense that we’re not moving in the right direction when we are,” he added.
And New York Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Patrol John Chell told the outlet, “The GPS devices, thanks to ABNY, will give New Yorkers another layer of protection by first locating and tracking stolen cars that may act as a deterrent for auto thieves.”
“It also allows our officers to be more strategic while mitigating pursuits, keeping us safe and keeping the community safe,” he added.
The AirTags allow users to track its whereabouts in real-time on an iPhone.PIX11’s @ Katiecorradonews reports on the new initiative and how the NYPD will utilize these resources.
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) May 1, 2023
Read more at:https://t.co/Ex9xuQVaMa
Perhaps some would-be thieves will be deterred by the thought cars will have trackers in them. Especially if they are committing the theft in a high-traffic area and do not have time to sit around and search the car for a tracker.
However, as one resident noted to PIX11, her car was stolen overnight.
Carmen Parrilla said, “They come into our neighborhoods, it’s like homes at night and everybody’s sleeping.”
“They just do what they do and they’re very professional about it,” she added.
So if someone’s car is stolen overnight, there will likely be a decent amount of time before the owner will realize it is missing. In which case, a smart thief… well a more cautious thief might try to search the vehicle for an AirTag and remove it.
Not every AirTag would be found, but not every car owner is going to be smart about their placement of them either.
And as the NYPD noted, car owners will have to contact law enforcement once they realize their car has been stolen. Then law enforcement will use their phones to track the car. So in theory, thieves could have a decent amount of time to steal a car, find and remove the AirTag, and move it to another location before the owner and law enforcement even know what happened.
It is also worth highlighting that a large portion of the cars stolen were made by Kia and Hyundai. Those automakers are facing lawsuits from several cities as there has been an uptick in thefts involving their cars.
The Wall Street Journal reported, “Cleveland, Seattle, St. Louis and at least five other cities have alleged the automakers didn’t install anti-theft technology to cut costs. The decision made the cars easier to steal and their cities less safe.”
“Officials from the cities said the two car companies haven’t done enough to fix the problem since thefts took off, sparked by social-media videos explaining how to steal the vehicles using a screwdriver and a USB charger. Thieves are often teens or even younger, officials say. Social-media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, have said they remove such videos, which violate their policies,” it added.
There is nothing wrong with encouraging people to buy AirTags and make sure their cars are locked and parked in well-lit areas. But the trackers are only going to help after the fact if thieves are not deterred.
However, it would also help deter thieves if they feared they would be caught without the hope of being released without bail or having their charges downgraded.
New York has made adjustments to its bail law to give judges more discretion. Last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) unveiled changes that would mean judges in the state will have more discretion to hold repeat or serious offenders before a trial. However, The New York Times noted, “Judges will remain unable to set bail for a vast majority of misdemeanor and nonviolent charges.”
And it would help to put pressure on Kia and Hyundai to fix the flaw that has apparently made their cars easier to steal.
