Toronto police chief Bill Blair is calling for new technology that could protect individuals who have had their cellphones stolen.
Blair is calling on cellphone manufacturers to install a “kill switch” that would deactivate cellphones when they are stolen.
The new technology would mean that cellphone owners would not need to wait for their carrier to deactivate their phones when they are lost or stolen.
The new proposal comes at a time when Toronto police are working to reduce cellphone thefts across the city.
Police spokesperson Mark Pugash confirmed to CP24 that more than 30,000 cellphone thefts have been reported in Toronto since 2004 – an increase of nearly 400 per cent.
Last year, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association launched a database of phones reported stolen to wireless carriers.
The online database lists cellphones that have been reported lost or stolen and blacklists those devices from being used on participating Canadian networks.
Currently, no jurisdiction in Canada has passed “kill switch” legislation. Last week, a group of U.S. senators proposed a law that would require all smartphones to have a “kill switch,” just days after lawmakers in California announced a similar bill for that state.
With files from CP24
