The theft of portable electronic devices has been on the rise in New York City and according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, thefts of Apple products alone made up 18 percent of all grand larcenies in New York City last year. Of the 47,000 grand larcenies occurring in the city last year, 8,465 involved Apple products. The NYPD has been using a multi-pronged approach to attack the problem including the use of undercover officers, sting operations and public awareness campaigns. There has also been a push for legislation which would require cell phone companies to install technology that would remotely make stolen phones inoperable.

One of the successful anti-theft strategies employed by NYPD is Operation ID. This free service registers the serial number of your valuable portable electronics along with your contact information. Registered electronics are easily traceable and if recovered by NYPD, can be quickly identified and returned to the owner.

An officer from the NYPD’s Midtown South Precinct will be in the lobby of the Graduate Center on Wednesday, 3/19/14 from 11AM-2PM to register your valuable electronics so please bring your smart phones, laptops, iPads, iPods and tablets to better protect your property.

For more crime prevention services visit: www.nyc.gov/nypd/crime_prevention or www.nyc.gov/nypd/crime_prevention/operation_id