Paul Betts, Deputy Commissioner, City of London Police on how the problem of mobile phone theft is being tackled

The City of London is one of the safest business districts in the world. We have low rates of serious crimes, fast response times and some of the best positive outcomes from investigations in the country.

To keep people in the City safe and feeling safe takes strong police and partnership working. One of the crimes we see too often is mobile phone theft, and we know if not tackled effectively it will continue to rise, not just in the City, but across the whole of London.

Sensitive data
The problem isn’t just the impact of having your phone stolen, or the cost and inconvenience of having to replace it. If sensitive data or apps are not protected, criminal activity could still be going on after your phone has been taken, with access to banking or through purchases using the apps installed.

At the City of London Police, we are out on the streets daily, tackling the problem and locking up offenders – highly visible in uniform or covertly in plain clothes. Our tactics to catch prolific phone thief Sunny Stringer, who stole 24 mobile phones in a single morning, generated widespread public interest, and we’ve just launched a new initiative, painting temporary blue plaques across the City, where real mobile phones have been snatched. Our message is simple, ‘a member of the public had their phone stolen here so look up and look out.’

Preventative
And we are just getting started. This year, as part of our new three-year Policing Plan, we are increasing our preventative approach to tackling theft while continuing an effective police response.
We are working with partners, who in the City of London include the Safer City Partnership, retailers, licensed premises, and our residential communities. Our joint initiative to literally paint the streets of the Square Mile with public warnings, demonstrates how well we operate with the Corporation of London to protect the public.

Tech industry
But we also need to work with the tech industry – Apple, Samsung, and Google – asking them to play their part too, because stolen mobile phones are so frequently being taken overseas, and the second-hand stolen market is growing.

Policing and government are working together, calling on the tech industry to improve anti-theft measures which make smartphones worthless to criminals. Outcomes we want to see include stolen mobile devices prevented from re-connecting to cloud services and to make every mobile phone’s ‘international mobile equipment identity number’ viewable on its lockscreen.

Effective investigations
In 2025 we’ll be ramping up our operational activity with a more holistic approach to the different types of phone theft, using all the resources we have available, including the Cycle Team we successfully introduced in 2024, our dedicated Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team, our Dedicated Ward Officers and our Response Teams. All supported by effective investigations from ourn Forensics Team, Criminal Investigation Department and Volume Crime Unit.

Our officers and staff are dedicated to going the extra mile in the square mile to keep people safe and feeling safe. It is a very safe place to live, work or visit, and we need to work together to keep it that way.

www.cityoflondon.police.uk

 

Working in the City? Follow this advice

  • To make stolen phones traceable, the force is offering phone marking that allows devices to be uniquely marked, helping police quickly identify and return stolen phones to victims when recovered.
  • Protect sensitive data and apps with unique and different passcodes or facial recognition.
  • Set up 2-Step Verification on all devices and ensure personal details like passwords are not kept in unencrypted notes.
  • Tell your network provider immediately if your phone is stolen. They can blacklist and deactivate it remotely.
  • Look up and look out.