Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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Garry K
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Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

Unread post by Garry K »

This one is from London, England, from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... ound-train:
Man arrested after charging iPhone on London Overground train

Artist Robin Lee was arrested on suspicion of ‘abstracting electricity’ after plugging his phone in to charge it when travelling from Hackney to Camden

by Hannah Jane Parkinson, Monday, 7/13/15

A man has accused British Transport police of being “overzealous” and “ridiculous” after he was arrested for charging his iPhone using a socket on a London Overground train.

Robin Lee, a 45-year-old artist based in Islington, was handcuffed and taken to a British Transport Police station on Caledonian Road after his arrest for “abstracting electricity”.

Lee was then arrested on a second offence of “unacceptable behaviour” after “becoming aggressive” when objecting to his prior arrest.

A police spokesman said a “decision on further action would be made in due course”.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Lee said he had been confronted by a police community support officer on the overground train from Hackney Wick to Camden Road on 10 July. The Overground is part of Transport For London’s wider network that also includes London Underground and the buses.

“She said I’m abstracting electricity. She kept saying it’s a crime. We were just coming into the station and there happened to be about four police officers on the platform.

“She called to them and said: ‘This guy’s been abstracting electricity, he needs to be arrested’.”

Abstracting electricity is an offence under section 13 of the Theft Act 1968. It carries a maximum custodial sentence of five years.

Lee, who tweeted about the incident and posted a picture of his arrest sheet which has since been deleted, went on to tell the Standard: “I was just incredulous. It was an overzealous community support officer. They should never have arrested me, they knew it was ridiculous. The whole thing was just ridiculous.”

The artist was later “de-arrested” for the offence.

British Transport police said in a statement: “We were called to Camden Road London Overground station on Friday 10 July to a report of a man becoming aggressive when challenged by a PCSO about his use of a plug socket onboard an Overground train.

“Shortly after 3.30pm, a 45-year-old man from Islington was arrested on suspicion of abstracting electricity, for which he was de-arrested shortly after. He was further arrested for unacceptable behaviour and has been reported for this offence.”

Electricity sockets on Overground trains are clearly marked with the words: “cleaners use only and not for public use”.

On a forum dedicated to the London Underground, members have pointed out that plug sockets on the trains are for cleaning equipment deployed when trains are in depots. They recommend not charging electronic equipment as there is a risk of power surge: “If something was directly plugged into it (for example a standard computer, or a laptop without a battery in) the equipment would probably be damaged at any section gaps where the power supply changes from one substation to another!”

Last week, 19-year-old Nick Silvestri hit the headlines in New York after jumping on stage before a Broadway play in an attempt to charge his phone – at a fake socket which was part of the set. He said his phone had 5% left as “girls were calling all day”.
That is an interesting last paragraph about an idiot trying to charge his phone on a performance stage!

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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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I seem to recall a year or so back some guy was arrested in the US for plugging in his electric car at his kids school during a sporting event. They told him he was stealing electricity. People tend to take for granted that electricity cost money.

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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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At school we charge our laptops and phones all the time. Now phones are the trickier case, of course, but you should understand that they're generally allowed as another pathway to learning, though there are obviously exceptions to this, like checking this site from time to time :P

Anyways, there is one teacher who for a time went nuts over us "stealing electricity" to charge our stuff. He went after those charging phones, but agreed to let us charging laptops slide as he saw those as more likely to be used for educational purposes.

At the end of the day, electricity costs almost nothing. Research online shows that it costs $0.41 per year to charge an iPhone 5 such as mine. Now I have never charged mine at school (no way I use it that much), but those who do so can't be taking more than 10 to 15 cents per school year in my estimation. For how much schools are funded per pupil, the number is incredibly tiny. Much more is spent on lighting and heating already there. Sure, there might be 600 students in my school who may all wanna charge their phones, but ten cents each per year comes out to a whopping $60, hardly anything considering all other expenditures.

Now obviously cars take up tons more, but charging your phone even where you're not supposed to is hardly worth being arrested or even ticketed! The piece of paper required for the ticket would cost more than the "stolen" electricity. It is simply minor and not worth it, in my humble opinion.
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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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MQT3001 wrote:Sure, there might be 600 students in my school who may all wanna charge their phones, but ten cents each per year comes out to a whopping $60, hardly anything considering all other expenditures.
Ok, but multiply that $.10 across all the students in Michigan and it adds up. A quick search says there are 1,105,430 students enrolled in Michigan schools. Using your $.10 a year, that's $110,534 worth of electricity. Power companies don't give free power to schools, so the tax payers have to come up with that money to let you surf while you're in school.

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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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If I was a betting man, this guy was arrested for being an ass, not for charging his phone..."artist..."

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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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CSX_CO wrote:
MQT3001 wrote:Sure, there might be 600 students in my school who may all wanna charge their phones, but ten cents each per year comes out to a whopping $60, hardly anything considering all other expenditures.
Ok, but multiply that $.10 across all the students in Michigan and it adds up. A quick search says there are 1,105,430 students enrolled in Michigan schools. Using your $.10 a year, that's $110,534 worth of electricity. Power companies don't give free power to schools, so the tax payers have to come up with that money to let you surf while you're in school.
But, it is still only a fraction of the student population doing it, and most hardly any, on just rare occasions. I'd say probably 10% have ever made a habit of charging their phones at school in my grade. And really it is only grades 7 and up. So really I think the figure is pretty low, probably under $15,000 per year in the State of Michigan. Like is said, per pupil, it is tiny compared to everything else.
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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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Detroit Metro Airport has free "charging stations" all over the concourse for laptops or phones. I thought it was a nice touch.
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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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MQT3001 wrote:Abstracting of electricity.

A person who dishonestly uses without due authority, or dishonestly causes to be wasted or diverted, any electricity shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Are you kidding me? Breaking the law is .... 'breaking the law'.
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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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MQT3001 wrote:But, it is still only a fraction of the student population doing it, and most hardly any, on just rare occasions. I'd say probably 10% have ever made a habit of charging their phones at school in my grade. And really it is only grades 7 and up. So really I think the figure is pretty low, probably under $15,000 per year in the State of Michigan. Like is said, per pupil, it is tiny compared to everything else.
The giant income sucking government we have in this country is entirely made up of seemingly inconsequential "programs" with a cost that is "tiny compared to everything else". When all these tiny costs are combined, we have a bloated out of control bureaucracy that takes far to much from the minority to "give" things to the majority.

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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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Let's see what MQT3001 says if the entire student body of GRPS came to his house to charge their cell phones? Rules are rules and if the school\business\public entity has stated rules prohibiting people from charging their personal devices they are entirely within their rights to take whatever measures (including prosecution) to stop the violators. We let people charge their phones here at work if they use their phones for work related tasks, but those that do not are told to use their car chargers or charge their device before they come to work. I know of companies that do not let employees bring personal phones into the building. This idea that everyone needs to have their phone on and at the ready 100% of the day is just insane. Even as some one who carries a smart phone for work, there are times when I shut it off, just so I am not bothered while in a meeting,event, etc. I also make sure that my phone is plugged in each night so I don't have to run around looking for outlets where ever I may be at the next day. It's called being an adult and being prepared. Getting off my soap box now.
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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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I understand the costs, but the time spent going after somebody for a few cents is ridiculous. If it is about saving money, you go about it the cheapest way. If that means some people get away with it, then that's fine.
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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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MQT3001 wrote:I understand the costs, but the time spent going after somebody for a few cents is ridiculous. If it is about saving money, you go about it the cheapest way. If that means some people get away with it, then that's fine.
Good approach to crime. So I shoplift, as long as it isn't that much, it's ok.

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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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Reminds me of Office Space. He was only taking a fraction of a cent. But over time...... :wink:

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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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CSX_CO wrote:
MQT3001 wrote:I understand the costs, but the time spent going after somebody for a few cents is ridiculous. If it is about saving money, you go about it the cheapest way. If that means some people get away with it, then that's fine.
Good approach to crime. So I shoplift, as long as it isn't that much, it's ok.
Yep.
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Re: Man arrested for charging iPhone on Train

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From Google:

Electricity usage of a Cell Phone Charger

Cell phones, mobile phones, even smart phones and tablets are very energy efficient because they are designed to run on a battery for a long period of time. Cell Phones use approximately 2 to 6 watts when charging, while a charger left plugged in without a phone will consume 0.1 to 0.5 of a watt. Charging an iphone or android phone under normal use conditions will typically cost under a dollar for a full year.

Dividing that dollar by 365, we find the cost to charge a cellphone once is .00273 dollars, or 2/10ths of a penny!!!!!!!!!!!!

Put another way, if 365 people all decided to charge their phones in an office building on the same day, it would cost a whopping one dollar! For the mathematically challenged, there is a huge difference between charging your electric car and charging your phone!
I understand the costs, but the time spent going after somebody for a few cents is ridiculous.
Ding ding ding, we have a winner. It is even more ridiculous going after someone for 2/10ths of a cent! If I was the Limey who got arrested, I would present the judge with the facts and offer to make full restitution! :twisted:
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