We have had RICA (Regulation of Interception of Communication Act) for more than a year now. I don't see cellphone crime and theft coming down. Probably because RICA was never designed with a proper goal, but rather just another knee-jerk reaction. (Or maybe it is achieving exactly what was intended - keeping tabs on law-abiding citizens, but that is another discussion)
Why are Multichoice DSTV decoders not stolen? They are worth quite a bit more than some cellphones.... Simply because they are linked to a Smart Card and cannot be linked to a new card (at least not easily). So steal one, and the DSTV service disappears, with no way of getting it back or reselling the decoder.
Imagine if RICA worked like that! Every cellphone sold will have a SIM linked to the IMEI number (automatically, and enforced by law). If you really, really need to get a new SIM, you need to jump through the current RICA registration hoops, but because less than 1% of subscribers would actually need it, the checks can be properly implemented, and easily policed.
Steal a cellphone, and unless you can change the IMEI number (possible, but harder than replacing a SIM), or plan to export it (also a slightly less immediate way to turn into cash) it is essentially worthless.
Maybe this will prevent people getting killed for cellphone?
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