NYPD Tag iPods, Computers at NYU to Halt iCrimes

5:21 am, December 1st, 2009, Nicole Martinelli

Used with CC-license. Thanks to FHKE on flickr.

In an effort to stop campus gadget and computer thefts, New York police are bringing an ID program to the New York University students.

On Thursday afternoon, police will set up an engraving station in a dorm lobby for students to bring their iPods, cell phones and computers. Operation Identification is part of a city-wide police program to ID valuables that was extended to the campus after an ongoing increase in “iCrimes.”

An infrared pen will mark student gadgets with a serial number that will be housed in an NYPD database, allowing police to access a description, model and owner information, should the device be recovered. After items are tagged, police can view the serial number by shining a light on it.

This isn’t the first iPod ID scheme we’ve seen at a school — one New Hampshire high school recently embarked on the same kind of program — but it is the largest. NYU has nearly 55,000 students.

Once again, it’s debatable whether ID-ing gadgets will prevent swiping or if it would be easier if Apple provided some sort of lock-down system after thefts.

What are the chances of an invisible serial number stopping a quick grab of an iPod in a dorm room at the end of a long night?

Via NYU news

Posted by Nicole Martinelli in News | Comment on this article

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About the author

Nicole Martinelli was born in San Francisco and has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. Cultish tendencies and love for DIY increased while living on the Old Continent, where tech came late and cost more in Big Mac index terms. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek. Since 1999, she's been tapping away at zoomata. You can also find her on Facebook, Linked in and Twitter.

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2 comments

I use preyproject.com

you should check it out. it’s only the best thing ever.

Eric Banh, on December 1st, 2009 at 5:23 am

It won’t crime itself, not unless you announce that “This product you are about to steal is invisbly marked. Please put it back now!”, however if the gadget does turn up in Police possesion, at least it may stand a chance of being given back to its rightful owner, without the Police chasing people.

Bicycle thefts are big business round my way, so the Police did a big blitz and gave away trackers you slide into the bike’s frame, then register the tracker’s ID and bike serial number on Police website. At first it cut thefts by 25%, it also meant Police wasted less time chasing owners of recovered bikes, they called the owners up and told them their bike had been recovered and they could come and collect it.

Fuzzypig, on December 1st, 2009 at 2:46 pm