Put the Blame Where it Belongs

The Associated Press has a story about an increase in thefts on New York subways (H/T to Gideon's Bible):

NEW YORK (AP) - The iPod craze has spawned a crime wave in city subways.

Police told the city transportation board on Wednesday that 50 iPods have been reported stolen on the subways so far this year, compared to none during the same period last year.

Cell phone thefts have more than doubled to 165 from 82 last year.

The thefts fueled a 20 percent spike in robberies last month on the subway, officials said. Most thieves are believed to keep the devices, which can retail for $100 to $500.

"It usually has to do with young people taking them from young people," said police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Now then, an increase in crime of course bothers me... but that's not what I want to point out. The headline of the article is "iPod blamed for spike in subway crime". An iPod is an electronic device. It has no hands, and no feet. It can only think about playing music for it's owner. It doesn't know how to steal. It's physically incapable of crime. So how can it be to blame? The criminals who are stealing these devices from their rightful owners are to blame here, and the headline should reflect that. How about something like "iPod thefts increasing on subways" or "Criminals targeting iPod owners". Don't try to focus blame where it doesn't belong.