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London mayor and Met boss urge phone firms to help tackle theft of mobiles

City Hall Man with phoneCity Hall
Recent figures show 57,174 phones were stolen in London alone over 12 months

Mobile phone companies have been urged to help make the devices harder to steal after the number of thefts increased.

Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola, Nokia and the phone networks met London's mayor and the Met Police commissioner at a conference at City Hall.

They were told they all had a role in "designing out" the ability for stolen phones to be reused.

Recent figures show 57,174 phones were stolen in London alone over 12 months.

The statistics, from the Met Police, show from September 2022 until August this year, there was a 28% increase in mobile phone robbery and a 22% rise in theft of mobile phones.

Over five years, there has been a 73% rise in mobile phone thefts in the capital, from 26,322 to 45,469.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said at the meeting: "We all have a role in helping to crush the criminal market that fuels robbery and design out the ability for stolen phones to be used in the way they currently are."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was sure there were things phone companies could be doing.

"We're going to work with them in a collegial way, about what sharing there can be between police, City Hall and these companies from intelligence, from engineering innovation and other things as well," he said.

'Trace handsets'

Ahead of the meeting, City Hall said existing security measures, including pin, fingerprint and facial ID, were not deterring criminals from stealing mobile phones.

Measures discussed included:

  • Improving location tracing
  • Taking action to stop stolen mobile phones being re-registered for services provided by Apple, Google Play, Samsung and other online stores
  • Exploring steps that could prevent stolen devices from being used outside the UK
  • Ways to make it harder for phones to be broken up and used for parts

The meeting also looked at ways to prevent identity fraud whereby criminals used stolen phones to access electronic payment apps, bank accounts and other personal information.

Hamish MacLeod, chief executive of Mobile UK, the trade association for the UK's mobile network operators, said phones already had several capabilities to deter theft, including allowing users "to track and disable mobile handsets".

Nevertheless, he said he welcomed the opportunity to discuss other measures, such as prioritising mobile theft and prosecutions.

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How to prevent your mobile phone from being stolen:

  • Thieves often target people who are distracted, so keeping valuables hidden ensures you are more alert
  • Be aware of your surroundings when you are out and about
  • Stay alert when walking along the road for criminals who might use bikes, mopeds or e-scooters to snatch valuables
  • Try not to walk along with your phone or valuables on show
  • Plan your route and use forms of transport that others are using, while also avoiding shortcuts in isolated places
  • Register your phone with property registers like Immobilise.com to make it easier to reunite you with your phone if it is stolen
  • If your mobile phone is stolen get it blocked by calling your network service

Source: City Hall / Met Police

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