For just about any of us who have old and unused cell phones sitting around, the ecoATM sounds like a great idea: you deposit your phone in the machine, and it can offer you up to $250 in instant cash. But for D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, these machines are merely another incentive for criminals to steal phones.

Speaking on WTOP today, Lanier said that she was none-too-happy with the machines, which are made by a San Diego-based company and can be found in a number of locations around the region, including the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. According to her, they offer yet another outlet for thieves who target phones and other electronic gadgets.

“I’m announcing my new crusade. Part of our issue right now is there are these new eco boxes where a person can deposit in a machine similar to an ATM and get instant cash. Many of the phones are stolen. I am working with the company and they have been cooperative, but I think this is not a good system. I’m sure it’s increasing the problem,” she said.

The company begs to differ, though, and includes a section on its website titled “Law Enforcement,” where it says that rarely deals with phones that have been stolen:

Every transaction at an ecoATM is remotely monitored by one of our staff through a variety of cameras and imaging devices including verifying of government issued IDs against the image of the seller, fingerprints, and device information. We also hold the inventory for the required time period. As a result, currently less than 1 out of every 4000 devices collected by ecoATM are later reported lost or stolen. ecoATM works hard to ensure that our kiosks are the worst possible option for a criminal to sell stolen property and the best place for the victim’s property to end up if it was stolen because we can track and return it.

Thefts of phones and electronic gadgets spiked early last year, leading Lanier on a crusade that ended with an agreement with service providers that allows users whose phones have been stolen to remotely disable them. By bricking phones, said Lanier, the economic incentive for stealing them decreases.