iCame, iSaw, iCrime: Exploring the Personal Technology-Violent Crime Connection

Mar. 4, 2008
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Urban Institute
2100 M Street N.W.,
5th Floor
Washington, D.C.

Audio Recording

Contrary to what many policymakers and citizens may think, complex social forces are not always behind a rise or fall in the crime rate. An Urban Institute analysis (available at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411552) offers evidence that the explosion in the use of iPods and other new devices may have triggered the spike in violent crime in 2005 and 2006.

The gadgets, Institute researchers posit, are not just entertaining and convenient; their high value, visibility, and versatility make them "criminogenic"—or "crime-creating." And their power to distract users helps thieves. Robberies—thefts that use or threaten violence—were up 3.9 percent in 2005 and 6.8 percent in 2006, while theft overall declined by 6 percent and auto theft fell 5 percent over the two-year span.

The iPod's popularity among young people may make it a special target for juvenile offenders, and indeed youth robbery arrests jumped 11 percent in 2005 and 21 percent in 2006. Adult robbery arrests rose only 1 percent in 2005 and 5 percent the following year.

Panelists:

John Eck, professor, Division of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati


John Roman, senior research associate, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute


Chuck Wexler, executive director, Police Executive Research Forum


Stephen H. Wildstrom, writer and editor, “Technology & You” column, BusinessWeek(moderator)