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Technology Putting Thieves Out of Business

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

Advances in technology means things that were once extremely expensive are now very cheap. However, it seems these advances are the same ones that are pushing common criminals away from burglary and towards mugging.

TG Daily cites James Treadwell of the University of Leicester's Department of Criminology, who says cheaper electronics mean burglars no longer profit from breaking and entering.

"If we look back to the 1980s and 1990s, the type of staple crimes would be, for example, very often burglary and car crime, and those crimes worked because they followed a business model and it was possible to break into a house and steal a video recorder and sell that at a profit," Treadwell told TGDaily.

Treadwell goes on to say that cheap labor in China has greatly impacted the lives of criminals in the UK. "Gradually, the prices of such goods has fallen so low that they almost have no resale value. If you can buy a DVD player for £19.99, it's simply not worth stealing."

Today thieves are more inclined to steal personal items, which are easier to sell on and more valuable. As a direct result, Treadwell says that while there has been a decline in robbery via break-ins, there has been a rise in young people mugging each other to get their hands on the latest mobile phone.

Read the full story here.

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JofaMang 02/11/2010 4:51 PM
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Awesome. Now they can move on to stealing organs! Once the chinese figure out how to manufacture human organs on the cheap, we'll all be safe.

batkerson 02/11/2010 4:55 PM
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But white collar thieves, like Bank of America execs, they're safe!

ct1615 02/11/2010 5:09 PM
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great, more unemployment news!!!

crom 02/11/2010 5:24 PM
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Stealing personal information is much more profitable than stealing a TV.

sliem 02/11/2010 5:37 PM
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Yea iPhone is going to be the high list since it's small and of high value.

Anonymous 02/11/2010 5:39 PM
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Damn and I was hoping to break in my 12 gauge on a filthy robber.

zoemayne 02/11/2010 5:46 PM
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well my car got broken to in the summer and they stole my radio faceplate. the price of GPS units have fallen but im pretty sure they'll steal go for it if you leave it on your dash.

JeanLuc 02/11/2010 5:49 PM
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I sure hope that isn't the new logo for the next Thief game!

What you find is more and more cyber crimes taking place, crime just doesn't go away like a virus it adapts to a new environment.

botabota 02/11/2010 5:59 PM
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so.... instead of just having our stuff stolen... now we get our stuff stolen and might get hurts too :P

JWL3 02/11/2010 6:20 PM
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Nah, there are no benefits to capitalism and "exporting jobs to China." Except massively cheap electronics, better quality of life, more options, etc. etc. We need to go back to when mom and pops were manufacturing high tech quality motherboards in their neighborhood store. Oh that's right, they don't do that. Large corporations do. Oops.

/dbag socialist, college-aged idiot liberal

lifelesspoet 02/11/2010 6:26 PM
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dookeylove :
Damn and I was hoping to break in my 12 gauge on a filthy robber.


Statistically apeaking, in the US, that gun is twice as likely to get stolen then it is to shoot an intruder. Not to mention the pending lawsuit that will follow if you do shoot him.

Ciuy 02/11/2010 6:26 PM
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lol a frikin mobile phone ....

Anonymous 02/11/2010 6:31 PM
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in separate news.... health insurance companies are increasing the premium on owners of apple products.....

nforce4max 02/11/2010 6:32 PM
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Why steel cheap imported crap when one can gamble in the casino that is wall street but we all know that is a rigged game. Wall Street has stolen trillions over the past two years alone in the US from the people and one must wonder how much is being stolen abroad. $23.7Trillion USD stolen from the taxpayer alone since the banker bailout in 2008. They are going to attempt yet another bailout except it may fail however the global economy is toast and it will not recover the standard of living as it is known even in the third world much less any ware for at least 20-30 years if nothing else goes wrong. If the buffoons in DC and in Moscow screw it up over Iran and Israel starting a third world war don't count on any thing getting better for a long time.

mlopinto2k1 02/11/2010 6:36 PM
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nforce4max :
Why steel cheap imported crap when one can gamble in the casino that is wall street but we all know that is a rigged game. Wall Street has stolen trillions over the past two years alone in the US from the people and one must wonder how much is being stolen abroad. $23.7Trillion USD stolen from the taxpayer alone since the banker bailout in 2008. They are going to attempt yet another bailout except it may fail however the global economy is toast and it will not recover the standard of living as it is known even in the third world much less any ware for at least 20-30 years if nothing else goes wrong. If the buffoons in DC and in Moscow screw it up over Iran and Israel starting a third world war don't count on any thing getting better for a long time.

When situations like this occur, you get civil and revolutionary wars in the homeland. Trust me, it'll always get better.

festerovic 02/11/2010 6:36 PM
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lifelesspoet :
Statistically apeaking, in the US, that gun is twice as likely to get stolen then it is to shoot an intruder. Not to mention the pending lawsuit that will follow if you do shoot him.



That may be, but it will be the most satisfying moment you can have with a shotgun, IMO. I've been burglarized 3 times, if I ever caught the guy, the shotgun would be the last of his worries.

Anonymous 02/11/2010 6:43 PM
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Come on, guys. Any Final Fantasy player knows that your thief character will eventually upgrade the 'Steal' ability to 'Mug' :P

masterasia 02/11/2010 7:38 PM
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I was once a victim of burglary. They broke into my car and stole my Alpine Tape/CD deck. It cost me a whopping $400 back then. Today, even the $100 head units are much better because you can do a lot with them, like iPod contorl, USB port, XM radio, HD radio, and bluetooth.

Anonymous 02/11/2010 7:40 PM
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"Statistically apeaking, in the US, that gun is twice as likely to get stolen then it is to shoot an intruder. Not to mention the pending lawsuit that will follow if you do shoot him."

Castle Law - look it up.

Thunderfox 02/11/2010 7:48 PM
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lifelesspoet :
Not to mention the pending lawsuit that will follow if you do shoot him.



Only if he's black.

grieve 02/11/2010 7:51 PM
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sliem :
Yea iPhone is going to be the high list since it's small and of high value.


for sure...
I recently sold my iphone 3gs 32gig used for 3 months for $600 cash in hand.
How easy would it be to walk up to someone and swipe there 3g out of there hand... wipe it clean and sell on ebay?

There aint an APP for that!

grieve 02/11/2010 7:54 PM
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festerovic :
That may be, but it will be the most satisfying moment you can have with a shotgun, IMO. I've been burglarized 3 times, if I ever caught the guy, the shotgun would be the last of his worries.


you need to purchase a new house in a different location... not a gun.

hokkdawg 02/11/2010 9:21 PM
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lifelesspoet :
Statistically apeaking, in the US, that gun is twice as likely to get stolen then it is to shoot an intruder. Not to mention the pending lawsuit that will follow if you do shoot him.



Clearly you've never been to Texas...God bless this state where you can legally shoot and kill someone who is breaking into your home.

hokkdawg 02/11/2010 9:26 PM
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grieve :
you need to purchase a new house in a different location... not a gun.



Come move to Texas, God bless this state where you can legally shoot and kill a burglar entering your home.

martin0642 02/11/2010 9:33 PM
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Once Automation totally supplants the need for humans to be in the production chain, and AI supplants the need for humans to be in the design and management fields, we'll be left like the people in Wall-E, with little purpose except to ponder our own existence.

Hopefully our knowledge of genetics advances to the point where we can look like an Olympic swimmer without having to lift a finger. I can't help thinking that the malaise of humanity will eventually be boredom, such as the Q continuum suffered.

All your silly arguments over which political belief system is better will melt in the face of unlimited resources, as capitalism only works to control limited resources. Be it real material possessions, or artificial constructs in the mind, managed by AI, our simple urges and desires will be laid bare and taken care of.

The funny part is how poorly the human mind is capable of understanding the very big, very small, very fast, and very slow, in most people. During the last millennium, almost all the scientific discovery and change occurred in the last 200 years out of 1000.

In just the first 10 years of this millennium we have advanced technologically in vast leaps; but because the things we invent are smaller and faster instead of bigger and taller, such as the ships and planes of the last century, many people don't notice the pace at which change is occurring. Eventually software will catch up with hardware, and when it does, the tidal wave will be felt by all, most distinctly.

Platypus 02/12/2010 12:44 PM
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martin0642 :
Once Automation totally supplants the need for humans to be in the production chain, and AI supplants the need for humans to be in the design and management fields, we'll be left like the people in Wall-E, with little purpose except to ponder our own existence. Hopefully our knowledge of genetics advances to the point where we can look like an Olympic swimmer without having to lift a finger. I can't help thinking that the malaise of humanity will eventually be boredom, such as the Q continuum suffered.All your silly arguments over which political belief system is better will melt in the face of unlimited resources, as capitalism only works to control limited resources. Be it real material possessions, or artificial constructs in the mind, managed by AI, our simple urges and desires will be laid bare and taken care of. The funny part is how poorly the human mind is capable of understanding the very big, very small, very fast, and very slow, in most people. During the last millennium, almost all the scientific discovery and change occurred in the last 200 years out of 1000. In just the first 10 years of this millennium we have advanced technologically in vast leaps; but because the things we invent are smaller and faster instead of bigger and taller, such as the ships and planes of the last century, many people don't notice the pace at which change is occurring. Eventually software will catch up with hardware, and when it does, the tidal wave will be felt by all, most distinctly.


Oo I love having a crystal ball! You have one too!?

vaughn2k 02/12/2010 1:39 AM
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I have an iPad... Want to steal it? Ok, well it's yours, just don't hurt me...

tipmen 02/12/2010 2:01 AM
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lifelesspoet :
Statistically apeaking, in the US, that gun is twice as likely to get stolen then it is to shoot an intruder. Not to mention the pending lawsuit that will follow if you do shoot him.




Then shoot to kill

Fokissed 02/12/2010 2:03 AM
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martin0642 :
capitalism only works to control limited resources.



Time is a resource, and last time I checked we don't live forever.

Bert R 02/12/2010 5:02 AM
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fokissed :
Time is a resource, and last time I checked we don't live forever.


Deep.

r0x0r 02/12/2010 5:43 AM
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vaughn2k :
I have an iPad... Want to steal it? Ok, well it's yours, just don't hurt me...



iPad's aren't even worth stealing.