As New York Metropolis battles with rising numbers of automobile thefts, officers are turning to Apple’s AirTag merchandise tracker and drones as potential options. In truth, metropolis officers and NYPD officers shall be dolling out 500 AirTags to residents to assist discourage and counteract carjackings within the metropolis…
New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams introduced the AirTag program at a press convention this weekend, calling it a “actually wonderful piece of ingenuity.” The five hundred AirTags that shall be handed out to New York Metropolis residents have been donated by the nonprofit group Affiliation for Higher New York.
For context, automobile thefts in New York Metropolis have elevated 13% thus far this yr in comparison with the identical time interval in 2022. Metropolis officers hope that extra residents placing AirTags discreetly of their vehicles will assist deter thieves, as an AirTag would make that automobile simply trackable by its proprietor.
New York Metropolis officers will focus many of the AirTag donations to the Bronx, the place grand larceny auto has elevated 24% thus far this yr in comparison with the identical time final yr.
“This straightforward machine, this easy AirTag, hidden in a automobile location that an individual just isn’t conscious, of is a superb monitoring machine,” Mayor Adams mentioned. “It’s straightforward to observe. You’ll be able to see in real-time the place the automobile is positioned.”
“Your cellphone shall be alerted. You already know somebody’s in your automobile who’s not purported to be, and/or it’s stolen. You name 911 as quick as you possibly can,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell added. “You inform the officers concerned ‘I’ve an AirTag,’ and they’ll instantly with citywide apprehension equipment will begin placing that tag citywide.”
There are a number of flaws with New York Metropolis’s plan to make use of AirTags to stop automobile thefts. As an example, AirTag is designed to robotically emit a sound after being separated from its proprietor inside an interval of eight hours and 24 hours. When an AirTag robotically emits a sound, iOS may even present an alert on close by iPhones.
Despite the fact that NYC officers are encouraging automobile homeowners to place AirTags in a discreet spot within the automobile, the sound and iPhone notification will ultimately make thieves conscious they’re being tracked.
What do you consider New York Metropolis’s plans to rely, partly, on AirTags to scale back automobile theft? Tell us within the feedback.
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