Barbara Beach, 16, uses her T-Mobile Sidekick to text friends as she waits for her Red Line train to arrive at Downtown Crossing yesterday. The MBTA announced an increase in T-Mobile Sidekick thefts on the T.
Snatched Sidekicks have kids on watch
Authorities point to an uptick in cell phone thefts on the T
Stolen Sidekicks
Feb. 21, north quincy, 11:15 p.m.
Officers spoke with a victim who stated that a male grabbed her T-Mobile Sidekick from her hand and fled northbound on the tracks.
Feb. 22, Jackson Square, 9:41 p.m.
Officers spoke with an 18-year-old female victim who stated that while talking on her T-Mobile Sidekick on the platform, a male grabbed it out of her hand and fled the station.
Feb. 22, Suffolk Downs, 10:27 p.m.
Officers spoke with an 18-year-old female victim who stated that while on a bus, four to five males surrounded her and one pointed a handgun at her. She further stated that it might have been a BB gun. The suspects took her T-Mobile Sidekick and fled the scene.
Source: MBTA Police Log
BOSTON. It’s the hot new item for thieves these days on the MBTA.
Teens looking to score the popular cell phone, the T-Mobile Sidekick, are snatching the pricey gadgets from unsuspecting commuters and even flashing guns, according to Transit Police Acting Chief Paul MacMillan.
“It goes in cycles with new technology. A lot of teens are using these T-Mobile Sidekicks,” said MacMillan. “This is consistent with what happened in the past when new technology came out.”
Transit Police have reported 22 thefts of cell phones in the past month and half, including four in the past two weeks. The majority have been Sidekicks, said MacMillan. In a normal month, the T logs in seven cell phone thefts, he said.
The thefts are primarily being described as “snatch and grabs,” said MacMillan. Commuters are texting on their Sidekick and a teen snatches it out of their hand right when the subway stops and escapes out the nearby door just as the train is about to depart.
In almost all cases, the theft involves teens grabbing the phone from another teen, said MacMillan. No arrests have been made and police do not believe it is just one perpetrator.
“As always, you should have a sense of awareness while riding the MBTA ... you should take certain precautions,” said MacMillan.
