78,000 phones were stolen in a year – I’m determined to stop these thieves

I was at a conference in Westminster when I had my bag stolen, which contained my mobile phone.

This was around 10 years ago so technology wasn’t as advanced as it is today, but I managed to track it using an app. That’s when I noticed that my phone was progressing slowly over Waterloo Bridge, so I figured they were on foot. 

I called the police, but they were not interested as they said the GPS was not reliable. I refused to accept that, so I asked if anyone had a car at the conference and a man volunteered.

We set off with someone else on the computer back at the conference. Remarkably, we located two guys walking slowly down the road and confirmed the location with the person at the conference.

I called the local MP at the time, Kate Hoey, and informed her that I was about to apprehend the thieves because the police were not interested. I also called 999 to inform them of my actions.

Sure enough, the police turned up and, when they jumped out of the police van, so did I. That’s when I located my bag, phone and Oyster card – and I was so relieved. The thieves actually had around 20 or so phones on them.

I would have thought that a decade later things would have improved, but the rise in mobile phone thefts across Britain has reached alarming levels.

I was shocked to read that in the year leading up to March 2024, over 78,000 mobile phones or bags were stolen across England and Wales, representing a staggering 153% increase from the previous year.

The situation is dire in London, where mobile phones account for up to 70% of all thefts. An estimated 64,000 devices were stolen in 2023 in London alone.

Where I work in Westminster, a phone is stolen every four minutes – this is the biggest hotspot for phone thefts in London.

So I raised this issue and told my story in Parliament. As a result, I have even had MPs contact me and ask if I can please help find their stolen phone!

On a serious note, the impact of this horrible crime goes beyond the mere loss of a device — phones now hold everything from personal contacts and private data, to banking apps and work information. I’ve heard heartbreaking stories of people losing meaningful photos and videos with it and being unable to recover them via the cloud.

Having a phone stolen can be devastating and incredibly inconvenient. Sadly, it can also be violent. I know many readers will know what it feels like to clutch your phone extra tight while walking down the street, even in the daytime.

Although there is frustration in the public, we know that police forces try their best to track down criminals.

But four in five police investigations are closed before a suspect is even found and just 0.8% of ‘theft from the person’ complaints resulted in a charge. I am appalled by the lack of results when it comes to investigating these crimes, having experienced the police reluctance years ago when I reported the men who stole my bag. 

I recently hosted – along with a Conservative MP – a meeting in Parliament with the Met Police, to hear about the police’s efforts to tackle these crimes. Officers told us they can’t cope with the volume of thefts alone.

They have undercover police walking the streets, but that’s not enough. Unfortunately, police are limited because they are thin on the ground after 14 years of Conservative cuts.

But now that Labour is in Government, we are taking action. 

Following Rachel Reeves’ Budget, the 2025-26 police force settlement will amount to £17.4bn – an increase of up to £986.9m on the current year. But the Met is still in the midst of a staffing crisis – and it proves that it was very short-sighted to have such dramatic cuts in the police.

I believe the answer to solve this problem lies in the hands of tech companies and manufacturers, who could innovate and design their products in a way that makes them not so easily exploited by criminals.

The Met Police is calling on Apple and Google to block devices reported by users to them as lost or stolen from re-connecting internationally to their cloud services, preventing re-use anywhere in the world and therefore deter thieves. 

It also wants manufacturers to make the IMEI number of a device visible when the device is locked to make it easier to identify stolen devices and return them to their owners.

This is important because on a recent walkabout with the police in my constituency of Brent, there was one particular shop that was a hotbed for stolen phones. The police had the shop closed down for a period.

If the police could see the IMEI number when the phone is locked, they could check whether a phone is stolen. We need to cut the supply and demand – if shops can’t sell stolen phones, thieves won’t steal them.

I recognise that some improvements have been made, such as introducing improved tracking and disabling features for people who lose their phones. But it has not prevented the worrying rise in thefts.

Tracking your stolen phone overseas, where most end up, doesn’t really help. At present, it is shockingly simple for criminals to wipe and re-register stolen devices. 

So I want phone companies to care about their customers. Currently, it seems to me like it is their business model not to care because they know people will be forced to buy another one, or insurance companies will pay out. 

I am sure it is in their long-term interest – not just for consumer confidence, but when phones are stolen and resold on the black market, they can lose out too when their product is devalued or their security systems are seen as vulnerable. 

That’s why we need a major push from the mobile phone industry to work directly with our police services to curb these crimes. 

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It is my strong view that companies should work voluntarily with the police towards this vital aim. However, if they are unwilling to act voluntarily and take accountability for the protection of their products, then the Government should intervene to strengthen legislation in this area to mandate action.

I am writing to the Home Secretary to ask the Government to use its powers to bring the police and phone companies together towards this vital aim.

Legislation should include clearer rules on how stolen devices can be tracked, and stronger sentences and fines for those who engage in phone theft and reselling stolen goods. 

I have already begun working towards a cross-party debate on this very issue, so we can explore existing legislation and innovative solutions to address the problem. 

This issue deserves serious attention and it cannot wait any longer. 

Ultimately, tackling the crisis of phone theft requires a collective effort. We all have a role to play – the government, MPs, phone companies, the police, and consumers must all come together to tackle this rising crisis. The public demands action.

It’s time to put people before profit and address the growing epidemic of mobile phone theft. Only then will we begin to see a meaningful reduction in crime and give the public a sense of security that everyone truly deserves.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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