MOBILE NOW A CRIMINAL'S TOOL OF TRADE

Mobile phones have become the preferred tools of trade for drug dealers,
resulting in a 275 per cent jump in robberies in the past three years, the
theft of 2,000 phones a month and black-market dealings.

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has revealed that thefts of
mobile phones, most commonly from parked cars, doubled between October 1997
and last December, with 83,598 stolen in that period.External linkRead the
report

Most phones were stolen from vehicles (38 per cent). Home break-ins
accounted for 11 per cent and 7 per cent were stolen from their owners.

The director of the bureau, Dr Don Weatherburn, said the most worrying
trend was that thieves were resorting to violent crimes such as street
muggings and robberies to obtain mobile phones. "Mobile phones are being
used by drug traffickers as a means of avoiding detection by police," he said.

"They are so popular amongst offenders that they're committing robberies to
obtain them.

"It's a very difficult communication form to intercept and, of course, you
can always throw it away and steal another mobile phone and replace the SIM
card."

The two major identifiers on many digital mobile phones are the SIM card
(subscriber identity module) and the IMEI number (international mobile
equipment identity) for the phone handset.

By disabling the IMEI number so the phone cannot be used, criminal activity
would fall and the cost to the consumer would drop, Dr Weatherburn said.

"Unlike analogue phones and digital phones connected to CDMA networks,
digital phones using Global System for Mobiles (GSM) technology can
continue to be used even after they have been reported stolen," the
bureau's report said.

This is because the SIM card that identifies the account holder can be
replaced.

The chief executive officer of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications
Association, Mr Ross Monaghan, said the call to switch off the IMEI was a
"simplistic answer" and the industry preferred a lost-and-found database
being developed that is now linked to 300 police stations.

The technology was also not available. "It hasn't been done successfully
anywhere in the world," he said.