Smartphone 'kill switches' are reducing thefts in big cities
See that shiny flagship phone dangling from the stranger's back pocket? You should think twice about trying to grab it, not only because it's a terrible thing to do, but also because it probably won't do you any good. By the time you've hot-footed it to the pawn shop to hawk your ill-gotten wares, it's increasingly likely that the phone will have been deactivated by a smartphone kill switch. The campaign, launched by San Francisco's George Gascón and Eric Schneiderman way back in 2013 appears to have been a success, helping to remove the perils of tweeting on dark city streets.
According to Reuters, smartphone thefts have plummeted ever since lawmakers began pressuring companies to include anti-theft measures in their devices. The stats claim that in the first year after he feature was introduced, incidents fell by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York. Technology-loving britons can also roam the streets a little easier, since London is boasting a 50 percent drop in thefts over the same period.
The three cities are likely to make a statement later today taking the lion's share of the credit for the work. It's likely that the group will announce that Microsoft is likely to include a kill switch inside Windows 10 when it lands later this year.
[George Gascón Image Credit: Robert Young / City of Mesa]
