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Police have used GPS tracking information countless times over the recent years to retrieve stolen property, including vehicles, computers, bikes, and phones. Unfortunately, equipping your property with GPS tracking devices isn’t always enough to protect against theft. Dr. Richard Weinblatt, a former police chief explained that the resources just aren’t available to address every stolen iPhone or similar device. “A lot of law enforcement agencies don’t have the man power to always be dedicated to working on tracking your phone,” he offers to ABC news.

“Resources are a big problem for law enforcement agencies. They need to be able to allocate it to the violent crimes first.” He goes on to add, “I mean, if you’re being stabbed, do you want to be put on hold for 911 to say, ‘I’m sorry we’re delaying with a $200 iPhone, we have to go handle that.’”

This exact scenario played out for Monica Friel, a mother and business owner, residing in Los Angeles, CA. After realizing she left her phone in the back of a taxi cab, she used another device to track the location of the phone, using a GPS tracking application installed on the phone. When she called the police to report the location of her stolen phone, the response was less than inspiring. “They were like, ‘Oh yeah, sorry. That’s too bad.’ . . . It was just really frustrating to be able to see the phone and know it was there and then not get it back,” she explains.

Despite having tracked down the exact location of the missing phone, which was in a nearby hotel, Friel decided against confronting someone in the hotel. Experts agree that she made the right choice. Someone who is capable of taking a phone, obviously doesn’t have a trust-worthy code of ethics. Many thieves are in desperate circumstances, and may become violent. “You can get hurt, you can get killed and it’s not worth your life or you injury for a $200 phone,” confirmed Weinblatt.

Article Written by Marisa O’Connor