Find My iPhone Leads To Arrest Of Suspects In Atlanta Armed Robbery Case

Apple’s iPhone has had its crime-fighting capabilities detailed before, but a new story today out of Atlanta (via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) has its Find My iPhone feature helping to catch two suspects in an armed robbery case. After five women were held up at gunpoint near the Biltmore Hotel last night in the Georgia state capital, police tracked one of their stolen iPhones to an apartment and nabbed the suspects.

A tipster tells us that police used Find My iPhone, the service that Apple makes available to iCloud users who also own iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and iPad hardware, to track the device. Find My iPhone has helped in arrests a number of times in the past, including in an armed robbery case reported by the L.A. Times last November.

The suspects in the case were both on probation when they were arrested, and police say the investigation is ongoing and others might still be involved. Find My iPhone actually has more useful features in store in iOS 6, including a method for tracking a device’s progress and marking its route on a map, so you don’t just see where it is, but also where it has been since it left your possession, which could theoretically help authorities build a timeline of events in cases like this one.