on 12-11-2009 02:29

By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN for the Times

PAWTUCKET — A message to parents: If a T-Mobile SideKick or other upscale cell phone is on your son or daughter's Christmas list, the Pawtucket Police are urging you to think twice. Thefts of these popular cell phones, and the assaults that often accompany these incidents, are at epidemic proportions, according to Det. Sgt. Thomas Newman.

“Parents have to be aware that these cell phones are causing a great deal of problems,” said Newman, who is head of the Pawtucket Police Department's Youth Bureau. He said that reports of the larceny of incidents of cell phones and individuals who were jumped and/or assaulted because of the phones are occurring at an average of two to five per week.
Newman is also urging the users of the cell phones to be more vigilant about texting and using the phones in public, especially while riding on buses and in other places where youths congregate.
Still, he said he sees the main problem as the pricy phone itself, which is such a hot commodity among youths. “Personally, I would never buy my kid a SideKick, because it's like asking to be robbed as soon as someone sees you texting,”said Newman. He likened it to “giving your kid a one hundred dollar bill to stick out of their back pocket.”
Newman said that since January 1, 2009 to the present, there have been over 150 incidents involving the larceny of cell phones. Some have been taken from backpacks, pocketbooks, or gym bags that were left unattended. However, many of these reported incidents also involved the victim being assaulted when they attempted to resist the robber. “Some of these kids have been beaten pretty badly,” he stated.
A number of these robberies and assaults have taken place when the teens were riding RIPTA buses. Newman said that in some cases, robbers have seen the victims using their phones while waiting for a bus in Kennedy Plaza. They get on the same bus, ride to Pawtucket, and then follow the victim to their bus stop, grabbing the phone when the person exits. The robbers then just hop on another bus and head back to Providence, he said.
Part of the problem, he said, is that the SideKick uses a SIM card that is interchangeable with other cell phones. A person with a cheaper cell phone model can steal a SideKick and just replace the SIM card with their own card and the phone will work through their existing plan.
“My recommendation to parents is: Don't buy your child a SideKick. It could get stolen, or worse, could get the child assaulted,” said Newman He also reiterated that current SideKick owners should be more discreet about texting and aware of their surroundings when they are using their cell phone in public.