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NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

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Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#161

Post by Dylan16807 »

vkou wrote: post #78
dheera wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just ask anyone who's had a catalytic converter stolen The difference is when someone's catalytic converter is stolen, we don't spend $5000 of taxpayer money on it. More often than not, we spend $0 of taxpayer money, and the angry owner spends $5000. I read the parent comment as meaning we're spending 4-5 figures of taxpayer money every time a car is stolen, in which case I'd rather we just buy 2-3 more cars with t…

> we don't spend $5000 of taxpayer money on it. If the police spends any time documenting it, looking for it, or catching and prosecuting the guy who did it, it can run up to that. Even if they do the bare minimum, it'll definitely run a lot more than $50... > I read the parent comment as meaning we're spending 4-5 figures of taxpayer money every time a car is stolen, in which case I'd rather we just buy 2-3 more car…

> Even if they do the bare minimum, it'll definitely run a lot more than $50...

The bare minimum is taking a report and checking a file, and that'll take about five minutes. How are you calculating "a lot more than $50"?

And why did you pick $50 anyway? Is that a comparison to how much the criminal makes? If the profit is a small fraction of the damage they do, it makes lots of sense for the police to spend more than the profit.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#162

Post by is_true »

sgustard wrote: post #129
Animats wrote: post #112

LoJack used to be the go-to company for this. No more. Classic LoJack had good privacy. It's a box hidden somewhere in the car, with a connection to vehicle power. It has a transmitter, but normally doesn't transmit. If your car is stolen, you report this to the police, which report it to LoJack. That broadcasts an ID over a subcarrier of some local FM broadcast station. The receiver in the Lojack unit listens for th…

I assume the "LoJack Inside" window sticker is the main technology you really want? Suggest the thief go steal a different car?

Negative externalities Co.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#163

Post by 7speter »

sgustard wrote: post #129
Animats wrote: post #112

LoJack used to be the go-to company for this. No more. Classic LoJack had good privacy. It's a box hidden somewhere in the car, with a connection to vehicle power. It has a transmitter, but normally doesn't transmit. If your car is stolen, you report this to the police, which report it to LoJack. That broadcasts an ID over a subcarrier of some local FM broadcast station. The receiver in the Lojack unit listens for th…

I assume the "LoJack Inside" window sticker is the main technology you really want? Suggest the thief go steal a different car?

The whole thing about the mayor and NYPD telling everyone who watches or listens to the news to buy a 30 dollar gps patch that someone can put under some car carpeting anywhere in said car should be enough to discourage most car thieves with 2 or more active brain cells, but hey, I'm an idealist.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#164

Post by heavyset_go »

smoldesu wrote: post #102
catiopatio wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would I choose an Android phone? Apple does not spy on me, and does not sell my information to advertisers. An iPhone SE is $429, or can be financed at the same price , with zero interest, at $17.87 for 24 months. Why would I want to join Google’s advertiser-driven ecosystem, and voluntarily make myself into Google’s product?

> Apple does not spy on me Apple can be compelled to spy on you[0]. > and does not sell my information to advertisers Apple is an advertiser. [0] https://www.apple.com/legal/transparency/us.html

They don't even have to be compelled, they can simply be asked to share users' private data.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#165

Post by tssva »

rootusrootus wrote: post #117
tssva wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thief can use the Apple provided app to discover if there is a tag, but I don't know that I would say it notifies them since unlike on an iPhone it would require the thief to actively open the app and perform a manual scan for the tag.

That's a distinction that doesn't really matter, because a thief is going to have that app installed and open after they've stolen something.

Since cars are being located even with automatic notification to iPhones the higher barrier is likely to have some impact.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#166

Post by icelancer »

sitkack wrote: post #103
beembeem wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have already seen this with other stolen property with other PDs across the country. - "It's too risky" - "not valuable enough" - "could be dangerous" - "can't prove your stolen item is where the GPS says" - "can't dispatch an officer or detective just because you have a GPS location" etc etc

I had someone steal my keys with an airtag on them in Seattle. Cops said they were going to send someone after making me file a police report, screenshots of Find My, etc. Call them an hour later, "oh yeah, no officers responded, we are too busy, good luck!" and this was on a slow-ass sunday around Greenlake. Recovered the keys myself. Good thing they have a 355M budget. https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/…

SPD does much the same for me. I had my laptop tracked using Prey software (prior to Airtags) and they refused to send cops to a location I personally scouted out, took pictures of, and identified my equipment.

When I told them I might confront the thief on my own, they strongly cautioned against it.

Basically they aren't interested in doing their job, or anyone taking action themselves.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#167

Post by 7speter »

surgical_fire wrote: post #108
acchow wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Again... this level of ignorance and short-sightedness is surprising coming from someone in such a position of authority He was making a joke, playing into the Android vs iPhone eternal war. But as someone who spent years on iPhone, then switched fully to Android for 5 devices across 4 years, and now back to iPhone..... I actually think the ignorance is the other way (Android users who have never tried iPhone as th…

> But as someone who spent years on iPhone, then switched fully to Android for 5 devices across 4 years Perhaps you don't know how to pick phones? My last Android device lasted 4 years (in fact it is still going strong after I installed DivestOS, became my backup phone), and my new device will probably last a long time too. Each for a fraction of the price charged by Apple.

You know you can get an Iphone SE for 150 dollars, right?

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#168

Post by autokad »

kevviiinn wrote: post #160
nomel wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why politicians try not to say anything at all whenever they talk.

Because they otherwise make bad jokes in poor taste?

no, because people go absolutely crazy at the slightest detail.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#169

Post by asveikau »

sgustard wrote: post #129
Animats wrote: post #112

LoJack used to be the go-to company for this. No more. Classic LoJack had good privacy. It's a box hidden somewhere in the car, with a connection to vehicle power. It has a transmitter, but normally doesn't transmit. If your car is stolen, you report this to the police, which report it to LoJack. That broadcasts an ID over a subcarrier of some local FM broadcast station. The receiver in the Lojack unit listens for th…

I assume the "LoJack Inside" window sticker is the main technology you really want? Suggest the thief go steal a different car?

I don't know anything about the trade of stolen vehicles and the people who do it, but i imagine advertising that will let smart thieves and chop shop types know what to look for and quickly remove.

From that perspective it's probably better for people to not know you have lojack, conceal it, and make them work harder to check for it.

Re: NYPD urges citizens to buy AirTags to fight surge in car thefts

#170

Post by yamtaddle »

acchow wrote: post #154
yamtaddle wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps you don't know how to pick phones? My last Android device lasted 4 years (in fact it is still going strong after I installed DivestOS, became my backup phone), and my new device will probably last a long time too. They might just replace their phone a lot. Some people do that. Actually, despite the common wisdom that Apple users are always getting the latest thing and just can't wait to give Apple more mone…

> They might just replace their phone a lot. Some people do that. I actually don't like to replace my phone a lot. The issue was, with each Android phone, despite great recommendations from others and lots of research I was left wanting. And after being disappointed by each Android phone, another Android expert would tell me that some other newly released hardware would blow me away. I was tricked by this again and a…

Heh—as an ex-Android user who owned a couple of the "good" ones, I definitely get where you're coming from. I'd take a $400 iPhone over any Android phone, no matter how nice, no hesitation, even disregarding existing purchases and such (I don't have a ton of those, anyway)
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