If you were Apple, how would you respond to iCrime news?

Picture_2 I was watching the local news the other day when a sound byte caught my attention.  "iPods linked to crime wave."  So being a man of the new millennium, I DVR’d it.

Here’s the scoop.

Violent crime in the US increased in 2005 and 2006 for the first time in 14 years. Homicides and robberies are up, while other violent crimes are down.

"At the same time that violent crime rates began to rise, America’s streets filled with millions of people visibly wearing, and being distracted by, expensive electronic gear," explained the authors of the Is there an iCrime wave? report.

According to the report, there are four reasons why iPods are playing a key role in the iCrime wave:

  1. iPods contain almost no easily accessible anti-theft protection
  2. Unlike mobile phones, there is no subscription associated with iPods
  3. iPods are high-status items and may be stolen for their status or to be resold
  4. Since iPods plug into both ears (unlike a cell phone’s one ear occupation) iPod users may be less aware of their surroundings than users of other consumer products

Here’s my question for us in the marketing world:  If you were the CMO of Apple and heard about this report/news story — what would you do or not do?