One problem is that, even if you have your device GPS tracked, it can be hard to get the police to intervene, especially in large cities.<p>Someone once stole my iPhone 5. I had find my iPhone enabled, and the phone was locked down. The thief began texting me from his own phone, demanding ransoms ranging from $100-$1000 for the return of the phone, while aggressively threatening to throw my phone into the Potomac.<p>So I called the police.<p>I reported the theft, and the address of the thief&#x27;s residence, and the fact that the phone was tracked by GPS. They transferred me to a Detective, who told me that they would file a stolen property report.<p>Throughout the week, I continued to receive increasingly erratic messages from the thief. The one consistent message was that if I didn&#x27;t pay, he was insistent on throwing my phone into the river.<p>So I arranged to meet him at my bank at the Dupont Circle branch (a busy location with guards.) I would make out a check to cash for $200, he would give me my iPhone, and I would stick around until the check was cashed.<p>So when he arrived (we arranged to meet via picture exchange, so I had that as well as evidence), the thief approached me at the bank door. There was a police car immediately outside the bank, and I shouted to the officer &quot;HELP!&quot;<p>The man ran.<p>I went to the officer and said, &quot;That man stole my phone!&quot; Instantly, he jumped in his vehicle, told me to hop in the passenger seat, and we took off down P street. The officer stopped the car, sprinted after the thief, and he obeyed the cop&#x27;s order to stop.<p>The man was taken to jail for theft and resisting arrest.<p>I said I didn&#x27;t want to press charges as he was obviously severely disturbed. I asked if he could be given rehabilitation or treatment. They said they would place him on a 72-hour psychiatric hold.<p>As far as I know, that maybe only got him a shower, a few meals, and three days in a psych ward at GW Hospital, but I thought it better than anything else I could do.<p>I still wonder if I could have done something else to help the guy.<p>But the real moral of my story, is that even with a GPS beacon, it can be very <i>very</i> difficult to get the police to recover stolen property.