The New York Police Department is pretty tech savvy for a government agency. Last fall, it launched a smartphone registration program to help track down stolen iPhones. And this month, it's released its own iPhone application.
The app, which is simply titled 'NYPD,' sports a number of useful features for New York City residents including a photo gallery of wanted criminals, and breaking news. And you can even use it to submit anonymous crime tips...
While on his way to SXSW, famous iPhone hacker Geohot was arrested for Marijuana possession in Sierra Blanca, a small town with a history of arresting famous people for pot possession, including country singer Willie Nelson, and rapper Snoop Dogg.
While at the checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, the Department of Homeland Security had drug dogs that barked at GeoHot's car, meaning there was something fishy in the car. GeoHot apparently had a quarter of chronic stashed in the glove box, as well as eatables containing less than 1/8 oz of marijuana...
It's pretty clear that Apple's iPhone and iPad line is a popular one amongst shoppers, but while most will pick up their new gadgets the legitimate way, it is an unfortunate fact that some will seek to procure their Apple devices by less scrupulous means.
New York City is one place where iPhone thefts in particular are almost commonplace, and iPads are fast becoming one of the most sought after devices as well. That's why the New York City Police set about trying to track down the places where stolen iPhones and iPads go once they have been lifted, and as a result have made 141 arrests.
Checking out over 600 locations believed participate in the sales of stolen Apple hardware, the NYPD made the arrests after offering to sell devices for between $50 and $200, all the while clearly identifying that the goods were stolen.
Remember the lost iPhone prototype? No, not the lost iPhone 4 that infamously went missing in a San Francisco bar, but the other one.
The iPhone 5 prototype that apparently took a walkabout in the Cava 22 bar in San Francisco has caused a bit of a stir. First, the San Francisco Police Department said that it didn't know anything about the situation, and then the SFPD came back with a statement that there was police involvement.
Then came reports that Apple's own security personell may have been impersonating police officers, and now it appears the real SFPD has asked for surveillance footage from the aforementioned bar...
Yesterday, Apple testified in a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on mobile privacy. Senator Al Franken called the Senators, as well as both Apple and Google, to talk about mobile privacy in wake of the recent cell phone tracking panic.
While Apple was pressed hard by the panel on the recently exposed tracking file, they were also questioned on their App Store submission policy. Typically, the Cupertino company is criticized for their app entry policy being too strict, but not this time...
This is one of my favorite conspiracy theories. Back in March, Apple reported that an employee of theirs was drinking in the bar and lost the most recent prototype of what would be the iPhone 4. Talk about a buzz kill. Or was it?
I maintained that Apple purposely dropped the device to generate months of buzz leading up to the phone being released. That's exactly what ended up happening. Now CNET reports that the police connected to the case have interviewed numerous Apple employees, including Steve Jobs...
What is it lately with stupid criminals and the iPhone? This week alone iDB reported that a man left his device at the scene of robbery and another instance of a woman texting about her crimes from her beloved phone.
Today's entry comes from my home state of Wisconsin. Madison police report that 19 year old Jamal Jackson heisted two iPhones from the local West Town Mall in the capital city. Both phones were armed with Apple's MobileMe feature of Find My iPhone which led Jackson to be tracked to a nearby PDQ convenience store where he apparently stopped his van to gas up...
I love this story. A woman in Illinois is apparently furious at her local police department for confiscating her iPhone that houses multiple naked pictures of the former stripper. Her iPhone was seized as evidence relating to a criminal damage to property case that involved a car being keyed.
The now club owner, Bridget Polaski, is reported as saying the following to the Chicago Sun Times:
When we wrote an article last month about police being able to use iPhone data to help them further investigations this wasn't quite what we meant. An Alabama burglar is facing possible revocation of probation after he left his iPhone at the house he was robbing.
The Times Daily reports that the homeowners noticed the iPhone and told investigators that the device didn't belong to any of the residents and it was seized as evidence. Franklin County District Attorney, Joey Rushing, stated the following: