Gothamist: Subway Crime Down 'cept for iPod & Cellphone Thefts

jt

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 14:27:48 -0500

pod people, I've heard there are other types of small portable music players that could fit in a pocket. Some store and play MP3s and other even can play music transmitted over the airwaves (I think it's called or will be called radio when it arrives). But I'm not sure about either of these though -- might be some new technology coming out soon.

pod people

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:57:01 -0500

The old "use-different-headphones-to-hide-my-ipod-trick" is turning out to be similar to the "hide-my-cash-in-my-shoe-because-nobody-will-look-there" trick. You can tell a person has an iPod simply because a portable CD player can't fit into a little pocket. But I think another reason why iPods and cellphones are being stolen is because of lack of awareness of one's surroundings. When one's sense of hearing is overtaken by music or a cell phone conversation, one is much less likely to notice a guy sneaking up from behind.

toyochin

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:56:06 -0500

I don't think it's primarily a status symbol. It's a convenience first and a fashion accessory second. I think most people are like me, use an iPod because it is a great device and really changed the way I listen to music. But they also like the way it looks, and the white cord is part of the look. Think of it this way - you might buy a BMW for its performance and reliability, but you might also like the fact that people see you driving a Beemer.

hijiki

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:43:57 -0500

i'm curious since it's claimed so often... do that many people really use ipod as a status symbol? that strikes me as very weird. i do just the opposite. i feel guilty if i have something the person next to me may want.

toyochin

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:19:12 -0500

I just have a smart playlist set up so I don't have to listen to the same song for a week. Such an underappreciated feature. Plus, once you've been using your iPod for a while, you know where all the buttons are. You can just reach into your bag or pocket and control it without looking.

gleek

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:07:59 -0500

yes, new headphones would definitely make it easier to conceal your ipod. i did buy new ones after only two months of wearing the white earbuds. i hated the fact that everyone had them! don't like being like everyone else. also, i think that the people that get their ipods stolen are the ones that hold them in their hand while riding the subway. i have seen people hold them or put them in their lap! that's just asking to have it stolen! keep it in your bag! or an inside pocket at the very least. i always try to setup playlists that i can listen to straight through so that i don't take my ipod out of my purse while on the subway.

slipKID

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 11:54:38 -0500

I used the earbuds for about ten minutes. I usually admire Apple's design elegance (the iPod itself for example) but these things are clearly impractical and the sound quality is weak. It's totally worth it to spend another $40-$60 on a really nice set of phones. Unless you like large uncomfortable status orbs sticking in your earflaps.

toyochin

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 11:41:21 -0500

But how many people listen to music and NOT own another set of headphones? It's not people didn't own portable music players before the iPod came around. In any case, the standard white earbuds are frickin uncomfortable. I don't know how people put up with them, status symbol or not.

dhex

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 11:39:24 -0500

oh, the white earbuds suck, but when everyone and their brother seems to have them, i can't really see them as much of a status symbol. also, considering that only 50 have been stolen out of however many hundreds of thousands cross the subways each week...this really is some mountain out of molehill type shit.

Josh

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 11:00:34 -0500

Or maybe... people want to use the product they bought, rather than have to go out and buy another set of headphones?

kas

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:41:23 -0500

could be, but probably not since the quality leaves something to be desired. mine fizzled out after 3 weeks, and i've heard from other iPod users that static is a common problem with the white earbuds.

dhex

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:29:55 -0500

or maybe, for some weird reason, they like the headphones?

kas

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:13:06 -0500

Logically, iPod owners would have started using different headphones immediately after iPod theft numbers started to rise. The reason many didn't is because part of having an iPod is a status thing...they want other people to know they have an iPod. If you keep the pod in your pocket, the telltale white headphones still allow you to let those around you know you have one. That is why there is hesitation on the part of many to ditch the white headphones, despite the danger of someone running off with the pod.

Jake

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 09:46:12 -0500

Here is a tip: People should stop being idiots. I would think that stealing wallets would be a bigger issue. Why? Because your wallet is not attached to your head and playing music.

ed209

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 09:40:51 -0500

I'm sure Apple can do something to their iPods to help recover stolen iPods.

Julie

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 09:07:36 -0500

Bratton's comment might not be as far off as it sounds. In Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point he talks about how Bratton's methods cleaned up crime in the subways in the 90s: The broken-window hypothesis was the inspiration for the cleanup of the subway system conducted by the New York City Transit Authority in the late eighties and early nineties. Why was the Transit Authority so intent on removing graffiti from every car and cracking down on the people who leaped over turnstiles without paying? Because those two "trivial" problems were thought to be tipping points-broken windows-that invited far more serious crimes. It is worth noting that not only did this strategy seem to work-since 1990, felonies have fallen more than fifty per cent-but one of its architects was the then chief of the Transit Police, William Bratton, who was later to take his ideas about preventing crime to the city as a whole when he became head of the New York Police Department. (more...)