Captain Obvious Of The Day: NPR Says People Steal GPS Receivers

First it was ABC News. Now National Public Radio is getting in on journalism of the abundantly self-evident. The Tote Bag Empire's latest find? Thieves steal GPS receivers! Holy crap, sound the sirens, summon the SWAT team! The last time I checked, a thief will steal anything worth over $5 from a car. Okay, NPR, I'll back off a little bit, you do make some interesting points in your story about GPS and other gadget theft.

NPR reports that expensive gadgets are "crimogenic"— that is, they cause thefts to happen, by their very nature. Not hard to see why GPS's are super-crimogenic. The street value for a GPS receiver is six times that of a basic radio. And because GPS receivers are often affixed to windshields with little more than suction cups, they're are often easier to snatch.

Here are the facts. They are cold and they are hard. If you leave your GPS receiver suctioned to the windshield at all times of the day, it's going to get stolen, period. Secondly, if you do make the stupid mistake of leaving your gadgets out in plain sight, at least register your device with the manufacturer, so on the slim to nil chance your gadget is recovered, it can actually be identified as yours.

Thanks for the kind info, NPR. The pledge-drive check is in the mail. [NPR]