With technology moving so fast, the latest gadget is obsolete in a few years — especially cellphones. Parents used to debate about whether kids should have cellphones. Then it was at what age should they have a phone. Now, it’s how to keep it in one piece and in your child’s possession.
Last week my son came home announcing that his phone had been stolen at school. He was concerned that he’d lost his lifeline to the world. I was worried about the loss of something so expensive. Although it’s considerably smaller, it cost more than his older brother’s first car.
With a heavy sigh, I asked how it had happened. He was in gym class and since it was the last week of school, students weren’t allowed to use the lockers. He was wearing sweat pants and was afraid it would fall out of his pocket. So he put it in his lunch box behind the bleachers.
After class he noticed it was missing and asked his friends to call the phone. They got an “unavailable” response. The teacher asked why he was dawdling and he replied that he couldn’t find his phone. The teacher told him to look around for it. He never said another word to any other adult at school the rest of the day — not an administrator, nor the school police officer. (He’d seen both of them before he left for the day and they both know him by sight.)
Once I’d heard what happened I called the school, explained the situation to the front desk attendant and was transferred to an assistant principal. I left a voice mail message and hoped to get a return call. I didn’t. I called twice the next day and once more the day after — which was the last day of school.
In the meantime, my husband used what I call the “lowjack” app and tried to locate the phone. It’s an application that allows him to see where everyone in the family is by locating their cellphone. My son’s avatar was nowhere to be found. He then called our carrier and canceled the service. We were assured that nobody — not even the FBI — could break into the phone and retrieve any sensitive information.
Although my 13-year-old doesn’t have any government secrets in his phone, the family iTunes account has my credit card information attached to it. I then canceled that credit card to be on the safe side.
After getting in touch with the DeKalb school district, I finally heard from his school. Although classes were done for the year, my son went back to the school to file an incident report. We sat with the school police officer and looked over video footage from the gym class.
You might think we’d found the culprit, but you’d be wrong.
A school gym is a large room with kids moving all over the place. The officer zoomed in as close as he could to the area where my son’s lunch box was located. Since it was where kids were sitting down to rest, tying shoes and doing whatever else middle schoolers do during what was essentially a free period, it was impossible to figure out who may have taken the phone. Besides, the picture was so grainy we would’ve had to memorize what everyone was wearing that day. Physical features were indistinguishable.
I’m not holding out hope that we’ll get the phone back, but Officer J. Bryant offered tips to prevent this happening to others:
Keep your phone on you at all times. Even though my son didn't have a pocket, he could have used a passport holder. They sell for about $5 and have a string that goes around your neck. It's easy enough to put it inside your shirt if you don't want it hanging outside your clothes.
If you can't keep it with you, put it someplace secure. Most other days of the year, students are allowed to use lockers. He could have asked the teacher to put it in a locked desk.
Make sure you have insurance. Even though most service providers offer discounts, cellphones these days cost upwards of a thousand dollars. The plans give protection if the phone is lost or damaged as well.
Don't loan your phone out. Peer pressure being what it is, kids are always letting someone borrow something — your phone shouldn't be among those things. Officer Bryant said he's seen students leave other kids' property lying around and think nothing of it. Your stuff is your responsibility!
Tell someone right away. If my son had alerted the teacher or an administrator, the situation could have been handled before he left school. Now that school is out, it's almost impossible to question the students present. And they probably wouldn't remember what happened a week ago anyway.
I talked to several metro school district officials and in all cases, school police fill out a report and investigate. The theft also violates the Student Code of Conduct, and school administrators may impose appropriate school-based sanctions. However, school administrators are limited in what they can do in investigating/retrieving stolen property.
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