For the first time in 20 years, the overall crime rate in New York is climbing up the ladder. But, drugs and guns aren’t the culprit here. According to the Wall Street Journal, the surprising increase in crime rate is due to the growing number of thieves stealing Apple products. Larceny, which involves the wrongful acquisition of the personal property, is up by 9 percent while overall crime rate was up by 3. “If Apple thefts had remained the same, we would be experiencing a slight decline in crime citywide,” says Paul Browne, a spokesman for the New York Police Department.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg is reporting that a total number of 11,447 incidents in New York, between the months January and September, are related to Apple’s products. When the iPhone 5 launched in September, NYPD officers stationed themselves in 21 stores and asked buyers to register their newly-bought iDevices so that the department can track them in case they get stolen. “Our emphasis on prevention and investigation of Apple thefts stems from the fact that they are a magnet for crime, including robberies, driving the spike we’ve experienced this year,” Browne adds.