Even as robberies decline across Denver, thieves are continuing to snatch iPhones at a growing rate.
Robberies overall are down by nearly 16 percent so far this year, from 1,120 between January and November of 2012 to 941 during the same time period this year. But an iPhone was stolen in 89 of this year’s cases, a 22 percent jump from last year, when the coveted Apple smartphones were taken in 73 robberies, Denver Police Department statistics show.
During the same span in 2001, iPhones were stolen in just 37 robberies. Thefts of iPhones have become so widespread around the country that police have dubbed the crime “Apple picking.”
Denver police officials say the spike is a sign of the phone’s increasing popularity and prevalence on the street. In most cases, robbers are snatching the devices from the hands of distracted or unsuspecting pedestrians. Seventy-six of this year’s iPhone heists were street robberies. And police sought juvenile suspects in 66 of the cases.
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