Over 99% of US based AED units are kept in indoor locations or vehicles where they are not always accessible by the public.
AEDs kept inside buildings are likely to be in the presence of other people - a major deterrence to theft or vandalism.
The ILCOR Consensus on Science with Treatment Recommendations have cited time and again that theft and tamper of AED units is not common - BUT (1) the issue not been thoroughly studied AND (2) the vast majority of AED units are kept inside buildings which get locked after hours.
When it comes to AED units placed outdoors where they can be accessible 24/7 AED VANDALISM AND THEFT HAPPENS MUCH MORE OFTEN THAN WE WOULD EXPECT
Roanoke,VA - my community with a population of 100k has had 3 AED units stolen in recent years that I know about - 2 that were placed in outdoor settings in parks, 1 that was outside of a school.
Beaufort, SC reported this week that one of their outdoor placed AED units was vandalized with the cabinet window smashed and the wires pulled from the pads cartridge. This is on top of two stolen from parks in the community just a few years ago.
A video from Hawaii of someone stealing an AED from a transport hub:
New York City had 37 AED units stolen or vandalised last year.
There are more examples that are reported in the news and plenty more that do not get any attention. I have filed several FOIA requests to get police reports for AED units reported to be stolen but it is not a fruitful search as each agency collects their own data and they seem to have a difficult time searching for this information unless an individual case number is provided.
