Bloomberg Says Uptick in NYC Crime Rate Due to iPhone and iPad Thefts

Crime is up on the year in New York City, and according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it's because of the iPhone.

Thefts of iPhones and iPads appear to be a major contributor to the increase of the city's annual crime index -- which includes felonies like murder, grand larceny, and robbery -- with 3,484 more major crimes occurring this year than for the same period in 2011 (108,432 major crimes in 2012 and 104,948 in 2011, an increase of 3.3 percent). Specifically, there was an increase in Apple product thefts of 3,890.

Bloomberg, who made the connection between Apple products and the uptick in crime rates on his radio show this Friday, was also explicit in pointing out that these statistics applied specifically to Apple products and not competing devices like the Samsung Galaxy S III. As Apple products appear to be the preference of many thieves, similar devices from other companies were not factored into his count.

"If you just took away the jump in Apple, we'd be down for the year," said Marc La Vorgna, the mayor's press secretary, of the crime rates.

Source: New York Times