NYPD Officers Can Now Use Basic Technology to Get Your Stolen iPhone Back

The police department is now officially training officers to use the Find My iPhone application, to help aid in the recovery of stolen mini-computers everywhere. In an internal training memo obtained by the New York Post, cops are instructed:

"If a complainant is reporting the theft of an Apple Corp. product, ascertain if they have access to Apple's 'cloud' environment AND have previously activated 'location services' on said device."

Apparently, it is much too difficult to learn how to use a simple iPhone application without a step-by-step office-mandated tutorial. Police sources told the Post that use of the app is just "another tool to locate the phone and apprehend the perp."

Despite this process now being codified in official NYPD policy, the department has no plans to buy iPhones for officers on which to actually run the Find My iPhone app, which means relying on the use of personal devices for the practice to actually solve crimes.

Additionally, perhaps spending valuable time training cops in the use of a basic, easily-obtained application while violent crime rates are up nearly six percent in some areas of the city isn't necessarily the best use of our taxpayer dollars. Granted, the move will certainly generate some great coverage from the press, whose denizens are frequently of the iPhone-owning class. Ah, well. Every little bit counts.

[keyana.stevens | @keyanastevens]

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