Did you know eyeglasses are the 4th most stolen item? Sunglasses can protect you against excessive light while providing discretion and a disguise. Glasses are widely used in the underworld and but its involvement in crime is rather ambiguous.
There are more cases against eyeglasses thieves than one would think and the use of masks these days has made eyeglasses the perfect prop to hide in plain sight. Just wear a good face mask and some fancy glasses and you’ll be transformed into a whole new person that people are adamant to approach thanks to the pandemic. While this use of glasses is not new it also acts as a deterrent against the virus in these testing times.
Eyeglass: An Unusual Commodity Having High Demand
Designer glasses can cost as much as $5000 and even more for the customized ones. There are numerous news circulating where clinics were robbed for millions and the most expensive things stolen included designer spectacles. It is safe to say this equipment and eyeglass accessories are in high demand even if they are being traded off the streets. Apart from the designer ones, even the usual ones are not cheap, the usual frames can cost anywhere between $100 to $1000 before accounting for taxes. Keep yours close because if you use eyeglasses for sight. its not just a financial loss, you can get stuck in the middle of the night without clear vision.
Hiding in Plain Sight? Eyeglasses Have Got You Covered
There are a number of cases where the criminal has gone through a makeover and changed their appearance and guess what helped them evade the authorities, eyeglasses.
Not just for hiding, it’s a known fact eyeglasses can help you look more trustworthy and people perceive you as more intelligent and intellectual. This can work for most people but might also alert some.
Eyeglasses helping criminals? Or helping catch them?
A recent case has brought to light a case where the perpetrator is accused of stabbing someone with broken eyeglasses. As the accused was already a criminal who was being escorted by a guard, he escaped custody after hurting the guard and brought eyeglasses in the spotlight again. Lawmakers are in a frenzy as to what can be done about inmates with a weak eyesight if you can’t even allow them access to eyeglasses.
It’s while the criminal use of eyeglasses is on the rise, it is also doing good to the society. Police and other law enforcement departments are actively using tech-equipped eyeglasses to scan and detect faces. This use of facial recognition eye glasses is on rise in Brazil and is helping police to detect and hence control criminals.
By just wearing the eyeglasses the glass can raise a flag as soon as any face in the public matches the criminal database, thereby making the whole process fluid and efficient.
If this usage is a violation of civil rights or not, is a separate debate but the use of sunglasses for such a powerful task is not an easy feat. This use literally translates into eyeglasses helping us ‘look better’.