Thefts of iPads and iPhones are up 44 percent in New York City

Thefts of iPads and iPhones are up 44 percent in New York City this year, NYPD statistics show.

This year there was a spike in city-wide thefts of popular Apple devices like iPhones and iPads in the part of 2012 from the same period last year, according to NYPD statistics.

The in-demand devices which can retail from $200 to $800 were swiped 1,196 times as of April 15 this year, compared to 831 during the period last year, according to the data provided to the Daily News.

The robbery and murder of Hwang Yang, a 26-year-old chef who was gunned down in Riverdale and stripped of his iPhone on his way home from work after midnight on Thursday, is yet another reminder of the growing epidemic.

A family friend of the victim told the Daily News that the killer took Yang's cell phone but not his wallet after pumping a bullet into Yang's chest at Cambridge Avenue near 232nd Street.

Police are still looking for the criminal who ended Yang's life and casually walked off with his phone. They're offering a $12,000 reward.

One police source compared holding iPhone or iPod on the subway to flashing cash in public.

"It’s the equivalent of holding hundreds of dollars in your hand," the source said.

The devices are attractive to thieves in part because they can easily be resold. But police and legislators are hoping to combat that under a new initiative.