PSP theft on the rise, cancer patient's PSP stolen

by Majed Athab { Mar 27th 2008 at 3:00PM }

What is the world coming to? This next story of PSP theft is a true tearjerker. Kyle Springs, a seven year old cancer patient on his way to a chemotherapy appointment in Dallas gets his PSP stolen. Not only that, but his school homework, medicine, and medical records were also taken. Worst of all, it happened the day before his birthday. Tragic.

There is some good news, however. Officers from the Dallas Police Department presented Kyle with a new PSP, and also raised more than $1,000 to pay for the lost medication. The PSP was important to Kyle; his mother stated that videogames helped alleviate the pain her son's condition inflicted.

While Kyle's story is heartbreaking, it does raise some valid questions. Why is PSP theft seemingly on the rise? And most of all, is there really anything we can do to stop it?

Tags: psp, psp-theft, theft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Richard @ Mar 27th 2008 3:20PM

Well, we may just have to lower the conceal carry age limit I guess.

In all seriousness though and humor aside, people need to be aware of their actions in life. Not only was this boy robbed of his material goods, but he also may be robbed emotionally now too.

dan @ Mar 27th 2008 3:22PM

stealing something from a cancer patient...now thats just a new low.

Macha88 @ Mar 27th 2008 3:28PM

Grand Theft PSP: Douchebag Stories.

Kane @ Mar 27th 2008 3:30PM

That's just disgusting.

Dan @ Mar 27th 2008 3:41PM

To be honest its not that hard to raise awareness amongst the consumers about this. In fact Sony should be presenting to every new psp purchase some form of awareness to avoid having the system out in the open for everyone to view.

Especially parents should start making their kids aware of such a thing. Walking down the block with a new gadget out in the open is just plain dangerous now a days. This applies not only to the psp but to cell phones, gps, music players, and other games. But these corporate companies dont really care either way about, to them its another sale they'll rack when you repurchase the system.

Ever bought anything from an apple or nintendo store?? They gave you the only obvious bag that you got something worth stealing in that bag, and 9/10 times you do.. making you a walking target with that. Try walking through 116th street with a nintendo bag being pretty big, you'll definitely get a lot of on lookers for sure..
Engadget should do a piece about these recent rise on thefts in order to get the word out there that some kind of awareness needs to be started, whether by the media or the companies themselves.

Its not rocket science, its just common sense, but the sony, nintendo, nor apple will say anything, thats just how the business world works :-\

Joe @ Mar 27th 2008 3:33PM

This is done right low. How could any one steal some ones PSP yet alone some one with Cancer.

I am not trying to make light of this but may be if Sony lowered the price of the PSP more there would be less evil people in the world who steal people's PSPs.

kyle @ Mar 29th 2008 8:22PM

dude...lower it how much more its only 40 bucks more than the ds....thats not that much more expensive and thats for the core system.....kids now adays are just stupid

Kenneth @ Mar 27th 2008 3:39PM

This is down right low. How could any one steal some ones PSP yet alone some one with Cancer.

I am not trying to make light of this but may be if Sony lowered the price of the PSP more there would be less evil people in the world who steal people's PSPs.

Jeff @ Mar 27th 2008 4:06PM

who ever did that crossed the line. if i saw that happend i would of chase down the person who did it. and to who ever would steal my PSP.

Robobagins @ Mar 27th 2008 4:10PM

I've had my PSP nearly stolen 3 times. Not fun. First time, the thief actually got it, but I was able to chase him down with the help of building security(okay he had my bookbag, but dang it he knew the PSP was in there). I've been apprehensive since then and it's stopped the rest of the would-be thieves.

matt @ Mar 27th 2008 4:14PM

Sony needs to put in a GPS tracker on the next firmware update. That way the cops can track down the @ssclowns who steal from children.

My favorite suggestion was putting C4 in the PSP and frag their butts!

dude899 @ Mar 27th 2008 4:24PM

now this is one of the reasons why kids carry guns now, to protect themselves and their things, not that I would carry one. Only if those people who steal psps had a higher education (seriously go to school people) they might have a better job for more money for a psp. Anyways in toronto right now theres a store that sells a used psp for like $129 and you can sell your psp as well for about $150 crazy but true

PR @ Mar 27th 2008 4:25PM

A theft also happend to me last week.
I was on a Montreal's metro, sitting next to the exit door and
listening to the music on my PSP (on my hands), so when the
door opened a m**** surprised me and took my PSP and ran
way. I hope someday this guy will rot into the prison.
And now my brand new PSP only stays at home. Shame...

farfisa @ Mar 27th 2008 4:27PM

The stuff was stolen from the car while the family ate breakfast, so yes the thieves are scumbags, but at least they didn't grab it from his hands and kick him in the leg (for example). While it's one thing to be robbed, it's worse to be mugged.

jon1467 @ Mar 27th 2008 5:04PM

that's really mean to steal someones psp, especially if they need it to help with pain and deppression. I think this is happening because psps are now getting really useful and popular so people want to steal and sell them. They only seem to be stolen in the US though, I haven't heard of any psp theft here in the UK.

russdogg @ Mar 27th 2008 5:10PM

its all because Sony got cheap and stopped shipping that little white wrist strap with the PSP. That thing has saved my PSP more times than I can count.

RandomUser @ Apr 3rd 2008 5:07PM

*goes and steals wrist strap from Wiimote* ... Screw throwing the Wiimote through the tv- save the psp! XD

DW @ Mar 28th 2008 1:01AM

This really dampens the meaning of portable gaming if said portable game needs to stay at home...

AUStin @ Mar 27th 2008 5:11PM

this is sad but people really shouldn't carry their PSP's out in the open. Listne to music with it in your pcket it is one thing but playing in while walking down the steet is just stupid. You can't see a flipping thing while your playing..

DomoBraden @ Mar 27th 2008 5:37PM

Wow, God must really hate that kid. That's terrible, but at least he had it replaced and all. Still, that's not cool at all. And why the hell would they take his homework and medical records? Why was he even carrying his medical records, don't doctors usually hold on to those?

To answer you question on why PSP thefts are going up, I'd say it's the same reason as why the PSP's overall sales are going up. Do the math.

Also, just for the record, I've had FOUR Nintendo DS's stolen and one PSP....and I'm not the type to just leave those kinda things laying around. I wish my police department would replace it them for me, but we all know that will never happen...

Sora267 @ Mar 27th 2008 6:13PM

Maybe there's a street theft community of people who all think that PSPs look like black iPod Classics or iPod Touches or iPhones and therefore confuse them for those Apple products.

Naz @ Mar 27th 2008 6:15PM

I'm sure for every PSP theft there is a iPod theft....it's small and valuable (too teenagers), so of course people are going to steal these types of things.

sirdanrhodes @ Mar 27th 2008 6:35PM

This reminds me of a cancer patient who had her 360 stolen, after theives knew she'd be in hospital. People who steal are just people who have such a shit life and have no will power to change that.

eugene @ Mar 27th 2008 7:01PM

swift, brutal public execution, that the answer, after seeing a couple of heads rolling down the street, people will think twice if whether that PSP is really worth it.

TinyTim121 @ Mar 27th 2008 7:03PM

THAT IS SICKENING!!! REALLY SICKENING!!!

Thats just a new low for criminals

TinyTim121 @ Mar 27th 2008 7:03PM

THAT IS SICKENING!!! REALLY SICKENING!!!

Thats just a new low for criminals

the Alphons @ Mar 27th 2008 7:12PM

my psp was recently stolen as well, it was stolen by this 15 yr old girl I invited over that I met off the streets who basically ran awayf rom home for a week and recently broke up with some 17 yr old who also lived on the streets for awhile and quit school, and I found out the reasons he rana way was actually to be with him until she found out he cheated. Im 23 btw. Anyway, I invited her over and even allowed her and ehr 2 friends to spend the night but when if irst came in I ntoiced after a bit my psp was gone and she pointed out to my case saying "hey whats this" as I was showing her some other gaming systems, and claimed not to like games so I didnt think it was her. And everytime I trie dopening her backopack secretly I couldnt get a good look inside cause she would be back. She also fought and punched guys before and was this young and hot looking but kind of grimey looking at the same time chick who got drunk all the time and stuff.

zelderman @ Mar 27th 2008 7:15PM

WHAT??????

Frastoglegnia @ Mar 28th 2008 7:20AM

@ the Alphons:

When I was twenty-one (let alone, twenty-three), I wasn't in the habit of having "young and hot" fifteen-year-old girls spend the night at my place. I wouldn't object to what might have been altruism had you not described her that way.

Is it really that hard to stick to eighteen and up? That girl is still a child, no matter how "grimy looking," "drunk" or prone to "punching guys" she might be. (That last description makes me a little sad, since her history of fighting off males suggests she's been pawed or abused.) I agree that it isn't right for her or her friends to steal your PSP, but neither is it right for you to ogle adolescents as an adult.

zelderman @ Mar 27th 2008 7:13PM

Who would steal a PSP, steal a DS.

zelderman @ Mar 27th 2008 7:14PM

WHAT

the Alphons @ Mar 27th 2008 7:16PM

The thing that sucked is the pawnshyop in town wouldn't allow em to look at their inventory for the registrationc odes onr ecently boguht psps cause they claimed they have legal issues they have tod eal with and they cant let me do that. They claimed they needed a polcie report file which I would have ahd to driv elike an hour tog et from the sheriff. Here are her pics btw in case u guys see her ask ehr if she has a psp she would like to sell cause Id buy it back or take it back or something:
http://a400.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/65/l_cd0b3523aa71b9ac83b61babb32df4a7.jpg
http://a338.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/30/l_a0e6559c8f95af811e715eb6cc6b1129.jpg
http://a15.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/38/l_6b6272393c5a63a0bbf2a11253abdd86.jpg

well hey at least i got to finger her poon while she was halfwaya sleep and drunk adn guided my hand down.

Bloodpool @ Mar 28th 2008 1:46AM

@the Alphons

Dude... your previous post said she's 15 then you said in your second post, "i got to finger her poon while she was halfwaya sleep and drunk". And you're 23?

Do you know how many different ways that is wrong? And illegal?

lucasbbadur @ Mar 27th 2008 7:26PM

Someone should steal his kidney!!

Phizzy @ Mar 27th 2008 8:21PM

This sounds like a joke.

nomad @ Mar 27th 2008 11:54PM

there is a anti theft progam tha might help a littl you can get it of ps forums. it will show up the theifs ip address if he connects to a pc. and thats only if the doshbag has the brains to run a pc. here is the text file on how on what the program does. Anti theft psp works on any psp firmware. any versions before v3.1 will not work.

1. extract all contents to your psp memory card, at the root.. e.g. F:/
2. right click the file called "index" (may be called "index.html") and hover to open with, and click notepad.
3. press edit at the top of notepad, and press find paste this in exactly without qoutes! "Replacewithyouremail@youremail.com" now change that email address to your email address.
4. this is the final stage, go to my computer, right click on a white blank space, click properties then click advanced
then environment variables.
5. once there, you will see 2 boxes, on the bottom box, click new, in the first typing spot, type in exactly theif and in
the second box that popped up type in false. (without the fullstop!). then press Ok twice.
6. you have set it up! whenever you plug in your psp, it won't detect you as the theif, but if someone else steals your psp
then plugs it in with a usb, or just puts in the memory card, it will auto run and check if that computer is the theif,
which its obviouslly going to fail, then it will run the html file and send an email with the persons ip address to your
email!

Please do not rely on this too much, its just a "just in-case application", that person may format your memory card before
they plug it in, or the computer might not have internet.

note:Credit goes to ATPSP v3.1 Owner. this will also work on any other removable storage devices!

Mr.ESC @ Mar 28th 2008 12:04AM

Maybe we could send him a PSP,I could send him my PSP if I knew his andress.

My Birthday is coming soon so I could ask for a Red PSP with Chains of olympus.

Hey let's talk to Sony maybe they can do something cool for him.

KaliKot @ Mar 28th 2008 1:11AM

doesnt seem like he runs around with a sign saying "Cancer Patient" now does he?

good job by the police though, although he's out of luck if he runs homebrew in it and doesnt have a pandora

Alien @ Mar 28th 2008 5:12AM

Poor guy ... still I agree with one of the above posters . Kids should look out better for their PSPs and dont take it out just anywhere . Of course it will be stollent then . Hell Im nearly 19 and I still keep my PSP in my inside pocket , so no pickpocketer will get it ...

Saffie @ Mar 28th 2008 10:24AM

What the officer did for the child put a smile on my face. :)

jello @ Mar 28th 2008 10:42AM

why is it on the rise? not a hard question people are stupid.the psp is the best machine ever invented and every body wants one even morons that would steal to have one so they steal it to kids and as this thread says to sick kids so they can have one easely....pathetic

San @ Mar 28th 2008 1:03PM

I guess everyone is over reacting here! All right, the kid was a cancer patient....but I'm sure the guy who stole it had no clue....all he wanted was a PSP he hasnt been able to get.

I guess it speaks about the upbringing of the kid who stole it, all that aside....I guess it was just another theft....

relax guys, take a break ;o)))