With nearly 4,500 car thefts so far this year, NYC is handing out free Apple AirTag trackers
New York City will give out free Apple AirTags to residents as part of an effort to pump the brakes on rampant car thefts, Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday.
Calling the GPS tracking devices a “really amazing piece of ingenuity,” the mayor said 500 of the gadgets donated by a local nonprofit will be doled out to New Yorkers, including in the NYPD’s 43th Precinct in The Bronx — which has been hit particularly hard by the carjacking scourge.
“The aggravated number of grand larceny autos continues to drive up crime in our city,” said Adams, joined by police officials, at a press conference, while noting that other major crimes — such as shootings, homicides and robberies and larcenies — have been on the downturn.
“This simple device, this simple AirTag, hidden in a car location that a person is not aware, of is an excellent tracking device,” Adams said. “It’s easy to monitor. You can see in real-time where the vehicle is located.”
A video posted by the NYPD later in the day demonstrated how the devices would help cops track a stolen vehicle and encouraged motorists to go out and buy the AirTag units on their own.
While he urged New Yorkers to make use of such devices, Adams also said the Association for Better New York had donated 500 of them for cops to hand out.
“We’re going to be handing them out in this precinct, which is really spiking in grand larceny autos,” Adams said from the Castle Hill Library.
City Hall said the NYPD’s Crime Prevention Unit within the Community Affairs Bureau was working on a plan for equitable distribution of the devices, focusing on the precincts with the highest number of grand larceny auto thefts. The city will also be fundraising to purchase more gadgets similar to the ones donated by ABNY, the mayor’s office said.
Car thefts in the Big Apple have been on the rise, with the number spiking to 4,492 through April 23 this year compared to 3,966 over the same period last year — a more than 13% increase.
The 43rd Precinct, which covers the library where the press conference was held, has already seen 207 vehicles stolen so far this year, city officials said.
“Many of us remember when auto theft was an epidemic on our city streets, when we were worried every single time we parked our cars we know we could leave nothing in them,” ABNY chair Steven Rubenstein said.
“There was a joke that went around back then that BMW stood for break my window,” Rubenstein told reporters. “But the crimes weren’t a joke and you didn’t have to own a luxury car like a BMW to be a victim.
“Today we’re nowhere near close to the bad old days but good leaders don’t wait for things to spiral.”
In January, crooks even took an unmarked NYPD patrol car on a 12-hour joy ride, police said.
Adams said one major driving factor is a TikTok challenge that encourages users to steal Hyundai and Kia vehicles using a USB cord.
The AirTags present a “creative strategic way” to fight back, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
According to NYPD data, cops reported 104 Hyundais and 99 Kias stolen in December, a huge leap from September, when 21 Hyundais and just seven Kias were stolen.
“It allows our officers to be more strategic while mitigating pursuits, keeping us safe and keeping the community safe,” Chell said of the AirTags. “Hopefully we recover your car undamaged, we take a bad guy off the streets, and you get a car back to conduct your business and it doesn’t impose on your life.”
The AirTags can be hidden in a vehicle where a thief would not find it. If the vehicle is stolen, a movie phone app alerts the car owner and allows for him or her to track its location in real time.
“This is not a centralized tracking system where we are in charge of tracking someone’s car,” Adams said.
Rather, it’ll be up to the car owner to notify the police, he said.
