
How Plan B found the Droid I was looking for - abraham
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/08/how-plan-b-found-the-droid-i-was-looking-for.ars
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mwexler
I speak from total ignorance; I've just read a few of these stories, so take
my comments in that context, please.

It seems to me that these "locate your device" companies would all do
themselves a world of good if they found a way to work with local police
departments to allow verification of theft and get past the "we can't help
you, no proof of a crime or evidence" walls. If average person calls the
police to report the crime, they get rebuffed (and we've seen this multiple
times with stories here on HN; they all start by "the cops ignored me, so I
tweeted or posted for help"). If there were a verification process where you
report the device missing with a possible location, and the cops can easily
verify that you do own the device, it has been reported stolen, and the
location is in their jurisdiction, it would seem like an easy win for a nearby
car to visit location, question suspect, and arrest if necessary, adding a
solved crime to their credit.

Otherwise, we continue to rely on friends and forum-mates to stalk a thief
until we can convice someone, anyone in authority, to help out. This seems
dangerous and only works for those with reasonably large, friendly, and
distributed followers/social networks

I look forward to one of these location companies actually hiring an ex-cop as
a "liason" and working out processes to get law enforcement engaged quickly to
grab a suspect when much of the work (evidence of theft, location of stolen
property, evidence of locations) has already been done.

Again, I am not a lawyer, and don't know much about this stuff, just what I've
read online, so feel free to correct me if this is really impossible in the
US.

~~~
arthurgibson
No rudeness intended, but "Possession is nine-tenths of the law". I don't
think police officers stalking a cabby for a phone you left in a cab is worth
it to the general public.

~~~
mwexler
You raise 3 points: 1) I would think that a cabby keeping a phone that they
did not purchase or have reason to believe was unintentionally left in their
vehicle, and trying to convert it for their own use or selling it, is called
theft, not possession. And I am not a lawyer, but I think theft overrules the
"9/10ths" guideline, which would appear to be in cases where there is equal or
no claim to the property. So I don't think that applies.

Now, a different question is: 2) is the size of the theft of import in
deciding whether or not it should be handled by the police? Well, if the
property is of minimal value (they stole my pencil!), I guess not... but a
phone valued at $300 is probably something they should follow up on. That
being said, I suspect there are actual guidelines that police follow in these
cases, and I don't know them.

Finally, 3) should the police officers "stalk" the cabbie? No, not unless they
are investigating or have probable cause for an arrest. But once the potential
thief is located, stationary, and in their jurisdiction/locale, is there not a
reason for police to intervene if the effort on their part is relatively
small? Yes, there's a cost to everything, but the GPS tool would have done a
ton to reduce the work/cost in this case.

Again, IANAL, etc.

~~~
jackpirate
How on earth could the cabbie return it to you?

If you left a $100 bill, it's his. No matter how saintly his desire to give it
back, there is no way for him to do so, so he may as well spend it.

[Edit: My point is that while _I_ can track the device, the cabbie has no way
of tracking _me_. How could he return the phone to me in this situation?]

~~~
uxp
Most, if not all, cab drivers cannot take possession of items left in the cab.
New York, for example, says:

§54-18(a) Inspection Following Trips from Airports. _Immediately after
completing a trip to Kennedy, La Guardia or Newark Airports, the Driver must
inspect the interior of the Taxicab and the trunk compartment, if used, to
ensure that Passengers have collected their property._

§54-18(b) Handling of Lost Property. _Property found by a Driver in a Taxicab
must be returned to the Passenger if possible; otherwise, it must be taken
without delay to the police precinct closest to where the Passenger was
discharged._

§54-18(c) Notifying Commission Regarding Lost Property. _If the property is
not returned to the Passenger, the Driver must promptly inform the Commission
of the details regarding the found property and the police precinct where it
is held._

Note that 54-18(b) is not inclusive of (a), but only when transporting
passengers to the listed airports is an inspection of the passenger area for
lost or misplaced items required. If any items are found outside of those
conditions, they still must be taken to the closest precinct, and the Taxi
commission must be notified of the property and to which precinct it is
located.

It is not the responsibility of the cab driver to track you down, outside of
yelling at you while you are walking away from the cab. After that, it is your
responsibility as a passenger with a lost item to track it down.

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edtechdev
case-sensitivity, gotta love it

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dave1619
Nice story. I hope these kinds of stories scare people so that they don't pick
up and steal phones laying around.

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ck2
_turned [to] the San Diego Police Department, Southeastern Division, which has
its headquarters less than a mile away from the address, but it was unwilling
to assist in any capacity_

Right there - huge WTF. Bet they were too busy filling in pension plan forms.

~~~
TobbenTM
I do agree that it is confusing and wrong of the police to just ignore it, but
what can they do? What evidence does the police have that would indicate that
this is not his (the taxi drivers) phone?

~~~
ck2
Serial number? IMEI? Calling the cellphone company to see who pays the bills?

They have endless resources when they are motivated - if an off-duty cop or
their spouse had been pickpocketed this would have been resolved in 30 minutes
flat.

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baconhigh
A battery life of 16 hours!! I WANT HIS PHONE TOO

~~~
code_duck
Yeah, really. I have a Droid 2 that will die overnight if I leave it on,
starting with anything else than 80% power.

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gcb
and no discussion about how that thing works and how it can be used for
unthought, cooler, ways? i thought this was the difference of news here and at
reddit

can a store make a passive-checkin once you fill a form with your phone
number?

~~~
rradu
You can install applications on Android devices by logging in through the web
interface and buying them. The next time the Android Market app syncs with the
service it will see it has been bought and will download automatically.

So not just anyone can install things to your phone, just whoever has access
to the Google account associated with your phone.

~~~
gcb
nice. and one search away: [http://jon.oberheide.org/blog/2010/06/25/remote-
kill-and-ins...](http://jon.oberheide.org/blog/2010/06/25/remote-kill-and-
install-on-google-android/)

~~~
gcb
this + coffee shop wifi (w/ ssl mitm) = instant sign in for anyone entering
the shop with auto connect to their wifi.. qed.

