Mobile phone thefts have surged in upmarket parts of central London and areas popular with tourists, an analysis of data carried out by The National shows.
Criminals in the UK capital have been singling out unsuspecting victims in busy areas, often silently swooping on people from behind on electric bikes and grabbing phones out of their hands while they talk or text.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has pledged a crackdown but the opposition Conservatives told The National the number of mobile phone thefts has reached “epidemic” proportions.
London police say 69 per cent – or about two in three – of all thefts in the city are related to mobiles and about 185,000 phones were reported stolen this year.
The robbers are described by police as “good cyclists” who often use bikes that have been illegally converted to have a motor more powerful than the 250-watt legal limit. They even wear special sticky gloves so they can snatch the phones at high speed.
Westminster, home to high-end residential and shopping areas as well as restaurants and tourist attractions in the heart of London, has seen mobile phone thefts increase by 33 per cent in the 12 months to November 2024, compared to a year earlier, the police data shows.
The borough is also home to the UK Parliament, and among the victims of phone theft was Labour MP Chris Webb. A gang on bikes wearing balaclavas grabbed his phone and raced off, causing him to remark “how stealthy they are”.
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The figures also reveal that within the borough of Westminster, which includes Knightsbridge and Belgravia and hosts many embassies, phone thefts surged by 28 per cent.
In Marylebone, where there is a well-established and thriving population from the Middle East based around Edgware Road, 27 per cent more of the devices were stolen in the year to November 2024, compared to the same period a year earlier.
Across the river in the borough of Southwark, home to the Tate Modern and Borough Market tourist attractions, mobile thefts rose by 37.5 per cent.
“These days, it seems everyone knows someone who's suffered phone theft, or suffered it themselves. It's an epidemic,” Neil Garratt, leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly, told The National.
“Yet when I pressed the mayor on what he is doing to get a grip, all he could do is blame phone manufacturers for not making the phones worthless if snatched. When the person responsible for fighting crime in our capital is more interested in blaming others than taking action, you know he's not even trying.”
Across London, mobile phone thefts were up 36 per cent in the 12 months ending November 2024. There were surges in areas such as Hammersmith and Fulham (48 per cent), Camden (48 per cent), Islington (39 per cent), Hackney (44 per cent), Lewisham (65 per cent) and Brent (79 per cent).
But when it comes to thefts, Westminster was way ahead of the rest of the city, at 221 per 100,000 of the population. Camden came in second, with 72 mobile phone thefts per 100,000 in the year ending November. Hackney and Islington had about 39 each, Hammersmith reported 11.1, while Brent and Lewisham had 9.7 and 7.7 respectively.
As well as mobile phones, the wealthy in London have also been raided of other valuables. Metropolitan Police data, collated by law firm Lawtons, indicates the number of reported luxury thefts in London surged 22 per cent in the past year, reaching a total of 9,433 stolen jewellery, watches and handbags.
All the top 10 most valuable watches stolen were rare timepieces made by Richard Mille, a database of stolen watches run by UK-based The Watch Register showed. Katya Hills, the company's managing director, has warned that luxury watches remain a target for thieves even in places where their wearers might feel safe.
Members of an Algerian gang based in London were sentenced to prison in November after they used more than 5,000 stolen phones to steal thousands of pounds from victims.
Over the course of 18 months, the gang worked with pickpockets and drive-by thieves to steal the phones, which they then used to drain bank accounts, illegally obtain loans or otherwise steal money, with crimes totalling £5.1 million ($6.4 million). Officers believe many of the devices were then sold abroad.
Some victims had thousands of pounds siphoned from their accounts, while others were charged for fraudulent payments for designer clothes.
Zakaria Senadjki, 31, Ahmed Abdelhakim Belhanafi, 25, Nazih Cheraitia, 34, and 25-year-old Riyadh Mamouni were convicted of various charges, including conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to receive stolen goods. They were given sentences ranging from two years and eight months to eight years in prison.
The mayor drew criticism when he urged mobile phone companies to build in measures that would lock devices if they are snatched by a thief who tries to run, bike or drive away with the device. In response Google introduced additional features including artificial intelligence and sensors to detect when a thief has grabbed and fled with a user’s Android phone, locking the screen to prevent them from accessing it or any data stored on it.
The Met Police said it was using technology and analytics to track stolen phones, including by tapping into Find My Phone data to apprehend offenders. This data is feeding into intelligence about common locations where stolen phones are kept, enabling the force to recover more than 750 stolen devices between January and June 2024.
Commander Owain Richards said officers were allocating resources to hotspot areas such as Westminster, with increased patrols and plainclothes officers.
“We understand the impact that mobile phone theft can have on victims – it's an invasive and sometimes violent crime – and we’re committed to protecting Londoners and tackling this issue as we make the capital safer,” he said. “We encourage people to report as soon as they can whenever they have been a victim of mobile phone theft, so officers can investigate swiftly.”
