The London Mayor and Met Commissioner have urged mobile phone firms to help reduce the number of mobile phones stolen in the city.
In an open letter, Sadiq Khan and Sir Mark Rowley said that the current practice of allowing stolen phones to be re-registered by new users is inadvertently enabling a criminal market which drives robbery, theft, and violent offending in
London.
They called on mobile phone providers to work with City Hall and the police to develop solutions to make mobile phone theft less rewarding.
The letter comes after police data revealed that 90,864 phones were stolen in London in 2022, an average of almost 250 a day.
Theft of
mobile phones is a major problem in London, with 38% of all personal robberies last year involving a phone being stolen.
Tech expert Jake Moore expressed scepticism of the mayor's proposal, saying that it would be difficult to enforce and could lead to innocent people being accused of owning stolen phones.
However,
Mobile UK, which represents UK mobile networks, said that it welcomed the opportunity to work with the Met, the mayor's office, device manufacturers, and the wider industry to reduce mobile phone theft.
The group said that it is already working on a number of measures to combat theft, including:
- Working with police to identify and disrupt criminal networks that are involved in mobile phone theft.
- Developing new technology to make it more difficult to steal and use stolen phones.
- Educating consumers about how to protect their phones from theft.
Mobile UK said that it is committed to working with partners to make London a safer place for everyone.
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