Tedros McCrary believes he is protecting his 2000 Chrysler against thieves each time he parks the convertible near his home in Dudley Square. He removes his iPod, unplugs the transponder he uses to connect it to his sound system, and hides his global positioning system device inside his glove box.
But McCrary's strategy has a flaw. He leaves the GPS mount on the windshield, a giveaway to thieves that a pricey GPS is somewhere in the car and an oversight that Boston police said has caused the number of the devices stolen to more than quadruple from 2006 to 2007.
"I usually don't leave anything out," said McCrary, a 27-year-old barista who works in the South End. "I should know better than that."
Police said they are trying to develop new strategies to curb the thefts, which have gone from being a nuisance in the South End and the Back Bay to a problem plaguing the city.
"It's spreading all over the place like the chickenpox," one officer said at a meeting of police commanders Thursday.
In the first 11 months of 2006, police reported 217 GPS devices stolen in Boston. During the same time period in 2007, the number skyrocketed to 1,009 - an increase so dramatic it skewed Boston crime statistics that would have shown greater improvement, Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis lamented at the com manders meeting.
"Our crime rate would be down 7 percent, instead of being down 4 percent," he said.
Several factors have contributed to the increase, police said. The devices are valuable (they can cost between $200 and $1,000, according to police) and sell easily on the street or the Internet. They are also easy to steal.
Even when someone hides the device and the cradle in a glove compartment, thieves will know there is one inside from the ring left on the windshield by the GPS suction cup.
There are also more of the devices, which give computerized voice directions and allow drivers to download the voices of pop culture icons like Yoda and Homer Simpson.
Retailers across the country have reported that they are a hot item this Christmas.
By the end of 2007, 6.5 million were expected to be sold across the country, 200 percent more than last year, according to IDC, a Framingham-based market research firm.
Last year, many of the victims of GPS thefts were tourists coming into the city to shop downtown, said Superintendent Daniel Linskey.
"Now they're more popular," he said. "People in the city have them for everyday use."
One South End resident, who identified himself only as Jeff, said that he parked his car on West Springfield Street one Saturday night in September, only to return in the morning to find the passenger-side window smashed. His $399 GPS device was gone.
He plans to buy another one and guard against more break-ins by keeping his car in the garage.
As for the replacement GPS device, he said, "I will take it and hide it."
"It's sad that I have to take these measures to protect what is mine," said Jeff, a 45-year-old consultant for a local computer firm. "That is frustrating."
Recruits at the Boston Police Academy have studied the trend and possible solutions, such as asking GPS makers to donate devices with tracking monitors so investigators can install them in decoy cars and find the thieves.
To deter would-be thieves, police are asking for stiffer sentences for those who steal repeatedly.
Recently, a perpetrator responsible for a rash of thefts around Roxbury was indicted for breaking and entering after detectives caught him trying to steal a GPS device.
If he is convicted, police will push for him to be imprisoned for up to 10 years under mandatory repeat offender laws, Linskey said.
"A lot of judges and people think it's a minor crime," he said. "It's a major deal in the quality of life. . . . The idea is to take these people who keep committing crimes over and over and put them away and put them away for an extended period of time."
As for drivers, they can use simple techniques to prevent break-ins, like using moist towelettes to wipe off the suction cup ring.
Startled by the statistics, McCrary, the barista, said he is through leaving the cradle in his car.
"I won't do that anymore," he said.
Noah Bierman of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.
