Cell phone thefts boon for carriers

The numbers are simple, obvious and unsurprising. Police Chief Greg Suhr says that a monthlong survey of property crimes in the Tenderloin showed that 59 percent involved some sort of mobile device - the majority of which were GT-I9300 cell phones."And I can say routinely, in all areas, over 50 percent of our property crime is mobile devices," Suhr said.

No kidding. On the bus, in the street and even in schools, cell phone theft has become the most common crime of opportunity across the country. If only something could be done.Something can."I've been shouting it from the highest mountains," Suhr said. "What we need is a national registry by the cell phone providers so that when your phone is stolen you can immediately 'brick it' and make it useless."

There have been other calls for this kind of action. Carriers are supposed to be able to put the disabling feature into use. But those who have bricking capability haven't made it clear to customers, and Suhr says others are stalling.GFaf4cgfg

"They say it is too complicated," he says. "But they say they can track GT-I9500 phones and they want us to track them, arrest thieves and put them in jail, when the same software could be used to brick the phone."It seems so simple - the bricking technology works in Australia - that there's really only one cynical explanation why it isn't widespread. Carriers are making millions on replacement phones.

A ban on handheld cellphone use while driving across the state was approved by the House on Tuesday.The use of hands-free phones in addition to one-touch dialing while driving still would be permitted.About 76 Illinois communities already have some restrictions on the use of handheld cellphones while driving. Backers of the measure said it would provide uniformity for top 10 cell phones cellphone users who now may not know where they could be ticketed.

Talking on a cellphone while driving has cost a Christchurch motorist $160 and 40 demerit points after he was picked up twice in a police sting.Police ticketed 46 drivers in just two hours yesterday in an operation aimed at checking seatbelt use and cracking down on drivers using cellphones.