by Rob NagleIn another reminder of the prevalence of smartphone theft, and that users should be aware of their surroundings when using the devices, a woman was robbed of her smartphone on Muni on Wednesday in the Glen Park neighborhood, police said.
The 35-year-old victim was sitting on the bus by the rear doors where the suspect was standing.
The bus was in the area of Bosworth and Elk streets about 10:30 a.m. when it came to a stop and the suspect grabbed the victim's phone and ran off the bus, police said.
The victim complained of pain to her hands and was treated at the scene by paramedics.
The suspect was described as a man in his 20s. No arrest has been made.
Smartphone theft is rampant in The City and nationwide, prompting local lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to lobby for kill-switch technology to come with smartphones on the day of purchase. The belief being that if a phone is rendered useless after it goes missing would deter further theft of the devices, which police Chief Greg Suhr says in some cases is supplanting drug dealing as a more lucrative and less risky criminal endeavor.