Electronics have become cheaper. Cars are harder to steal. Criminals can commit crimes online instead. We possess less objects as more things become digitized. Improved welfare programs. Improved forensic investigations.
Criminals used to make off with your TV, whereas any TV worth stealing today is just too delicate to move in a hurry. We don't tend to have expensive VCRs either.
Remember when car stereos were stolen? Most modern cars have fully integrated head units and aftermarket alternatives are now niche and often worth very little. After that it was GPS units, but even they are now dirt cheap and not much of a theft target.
Mobile phones used to be an easy score. Today they're trackable and lockable, making the more desirable models — particularly iPhones — worth almost nothing. Criminals know this, which is why iPhone thefts have plummeted.
A pricy item, easy to (re)sell (= DIY looking for replacement parts), not trackable (serial numbers?), probably easy/quick to strip from a car if you know what your doing ...
Ebay even has a "Replacement Air Bag Buying Guide": http://www.ebay.com/gds/Replacement-Air-Bag-Buying-Guide-/10...
A friend recently had her phone stolen right out of her hand. They police were able to catch the kid fairly quickly, and return the phone. They said that they call it 'apple picking', and it is fairly common. I was surprised because smart phones are so easily tracked/locked.
Granted, the "end user" got burnt, not the thief... but the end result is the stolen phone was worthless. Co-worker is out an uninsured, stolen iPhone... the purchaser is out a phone purchase on eBay (I presume).
Violent crime, not really, and that's what the article is mostly about. But you're right that the shift to online crime seems often to be missed or ignored. For example: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/05/crime-statistics-a...