We were able to zero in on more than half.

And police officers like detective Richard Kenney of the NYPD says if Apple does what we did, it would stop iPod crime in its tracks.

Chris Hansen: If the public knew there was a way to track these things down, what do you think would happen to the incidence of iPod theft?

Det. Kenney: The people who are actually committing the crimes and stealing them would stop doing that because they won't have anyone to sell them to.

Is he right?  We went straight to the horse's mouth: the people who took our iPods.

Chris Hansen: Had you known that there was a way to track these things, would you have taken it?

Student: No I wouldn't have … I wouldn't have taken it in the first place.

Student 2: No way, they wouldn't take it at all!

Chris Hansen: No one would take it if they thought it could be tracked down?

Student 2: People like me wouldn't. I'd be like, no way.

And calls for Apple to take action are being heard not just here, but around the world.

In England, a top government crime-fighting official who left office just last month had a message for manufacturers like Apple.

John Reid: If I had one piece of advice, it actually wouldn't be to young people, it would be to the manufacturers. And that is: help us to design in features which reduce crime.

Levy: People are very nervous that they're tracked when they use technology!

Steven Levy is a senior editor at Newsweek magazine and the author of "The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness."

Levy: I think since they're not legally responsible they don't want to take that extra mile and say “Hey, we know everyone's serial number of every iPod that connects to the iTunes store.”

Hansen: Do you think Apple has the technology currently to track a stolen iPod?

Levy: My guess is that, you know, probably they have the technology to figure out whatever ID is on there, but I don't think they have the obligation … It might be a good incentive to add to AppleCare, which is their insurance policy for iPods, to have some kind of tracking thing. They make money from AppleCare -- that's a profit center for them, so maybe it'd be more profitable. People would sign up more if they had iPod stolen insurance in there. If the mother ship could track down the iPod more people might sign up for AppleCare and Apple might make more money.

And although Apple declined our requests for interviews and comment regarding this report, the company -- which consistently ranks at or near the top in customer satisfaction surveys in the tech world -- might well turn out to be the hero in our story after all.

Why? Just recently came word from the U.S. Patent Office that Apple has applied for a new patent. In its application, Apple confirms that there is a “serious problem” with iPod theft and that iPod owners have been seriously injured or even murdered for their iPods. And the company has proposed an ingenious solution to the problem: essentially, you can't recharge the iPod or the new iPhone if you can't prove the device is yours when you hook it up to iTunes.

Levy: If an owner wants to opt in and they're offering it as a service, then I think that could be a good thing.

Until Apple follows through with the plans outlined in the patent, others have rushed to meet demand for someone to do something about stolen iPods. Alain Ferry has turned stolenipods.com into a business venture: unloseit.com, which bills itself as earth's lost and found center, and uses a system of stickers and rewards to reconnect lost or stolen gadgets with their owners.

Other companies like Gadget Track use tracking software. Another firm, Stuffbak.com, like unloseit.com, uses a system of stickers to help recover gadgets and other property.

After all when it comes to iPods, people will do almost anything to get theirs back. Alain Ferry, and some of those who first asked for help, just went out and bought new ones.

And Steven Levy?

He had his precious iPod stolen too. But he's getting by and using an old one for now.

Levy: Look, obviously I'm not going to shrivel and die without an iPod. But you know, life wouldn't be as fun!

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