STOP THIEF —

The New York PD wants to help find your iPhone

Police at 5th Ave. Apple Store to register new iDevices, will do Android too.

Apple's "Find my iPhone" and "Find my iPad" features are extremely handy around the house—I'm not ashamed to say I use it regularly to help me figure out where I last set my phone down—but it's got somewhat more of a mixed record in helping with the recovery of stolen iDevices. Police departments are sometimes unsure of exactly how the technology integrates into their established procedures for dealing with stolen property, and often have to painstakingly re-verify what a "Find my iPhone"-wielding victim tells them about the whereabouts of their devices.

Things are improving, though, as law enforcement becomes more comfortable with the technology, and headlines about actual arrests due to "Find my iPhone"-derived information are becoming more common.

In fact, Gothamist reports that, at least in New York, the local constabulary will be hanging around the flagship 5th Avenue Apple Store and will be encouraging new iPhone 5 owners to register their phones' serial numbers with them. This is part of an initiative the NYPD calls "Operation I.D." It's an excellent example of law enforcement embracing the extra anti-theft capabilities offered by today's smartphones.

Registering your phone with the NYPD could substantially reduce the amount of time it takes for it to be recovered once it's reported stolen, as you will already have clearly established your ownership of the device. Further, participating phone owners can have a special Operation I.D. number engraved in their device to visually mark it; this could in theory make the devices harder to sell if they are illicitly acquired.

Though the focus at the Apple Store is obviously on iDevices, Operation I.D. isn't just for Apple phones and iPads—the flyer makes explicit mention of Android devices as well. They don't have a specific recommendation for a "Find my iPhone"-equivalent app, but rather indicate that several are available and the user should choose the one they prefer. Android users can register their device just like Apple owners and enjoy the same benefits.

Channel Ars Technica