Children as young as 11 having iPods stolen

It must be a sign of the times, not only are the children aged between 11 and 16 carrying high value equipment and gadgets to school and in the streets, but at the same time, because they are so young and carrying such high value goods, they are also becoming victims of crime.

In the last three years it has been discovered through a research study conducted for and on behalf of the Design Council that one in eight children aged between 11 and sixteen have experienced the theft of valuable gadgetry.

The items such as iPods and Mobile Phones have a high street value and because of the amount of young people carrying them around, they are quick and easy targets for thieves and muggers. Most of these victims were actually using the device when it was stolen from them.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, will make changes to the British Crime Survey (BCS) to include crimes experienced by children under 16. She said: "I want to ensure that young people are offered as much protection from crime as possible and receive support if they do become victims, whilst also tackling offending vigorously." 

David Kester, who is the chief executive of the Design Council, said: "Our objective is to look at the thorny problem of hot product theft through the design lens and come up with some new ideas."

Clearly not displaying these devices quite so much would be a good idea, this would not alert the criminals of the existence of the device, but it's not always easy to tell kids what's good for them. 

Source [Telegraph]