Lost a low-end mobile phone? No one will probably go looking for it

Imran Gowhar

Cost of probe is often many times the cost of phone

If your mobile phone is stolen, chances are unless it is a high-end device, the police are not going to be in a hurry to catch the thief. Tracking down low-priced mobile phones is the last priority for the police, for two reasons.

More often than not, the cost incurred and manpower diverted to recover the phone — especially if it’s found operational several hundred kilometres away from the city — is often 10 times the actual price of the device in the market. Secondly, police officers say, most of the victims usually just want an acknowledgement on the lost phone so that they can get a duplicate SIM.

“At the jurisdictional level, we work on priority basis. With limited resources, it comes down to prioritising crime and focussing on serious cases. More often than not, tracking down a mobile phone needs as many men as a murder or house break-in case,” a police officer said.

Rise in thefts

And while ignoring such complaints has reduced the workload on the police, it has resulted in a rise in mobile phone thefts in the city. The lethargic attitude of the police is giving a carte blanche to thieves who find that they are getting away with stealing inexpensive phones that can easily be disposed of later.

“With technological advancement, it is not that we can’t track down a stolen phone. It is just a matter of feasibility,” another police officer said. A lot also depends on whether the complainant pursues the case actively with the police.

However, the police feel service providers should have technology in place to deactivate a handset if it is stolen or being misused.