We will make London a no-go zone for phone snatchers who inflict misery, writes Sadiq Khan |
I know the misery phone thieves inflict.
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Although we've been making progress in London over recent years in cracking down on this crime, there's still much more to do. That's why I'm announcing a new £4.5 million investment to make our capital a no-go area for anyone involved in this criminal enterprise.
When I was younger, thieves would target car stereos because they were valuable and relatively simple to steal. Working with car manufacturers, this was designed out.
Now, criminals are going after smartphones as a similarly easy and low-risk way to make a fast buck. As Mayor, I’m determined to change this notion.
Phone theft started to rise after the pandemic, not just in London but in cities across Europe.
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Mobile phones are becoming more and more expensive. Phone crime is now a £50 million-a-year international criminal enterprise in the capital, involving an organised network of thieves, middlemen and exporters.
Evidence shows that the majority of phones stolen in London end up being resold abroad, in places as far away as China and Algeria.
In response, the police in London have stepped up visible policing and used plain-clothed specialist operations in hotspot areas like the West End. This has led to hundreds of arrests and thousands of assets seized.
Last year, the police successfully disrupted a major criminal network, suspected of being responsible for up to 40 per cent of phones stolen in London.
With record City Hall investment, the Met is now utilising new technology, including drones and supercharged “Sur-Ron” e-bikes, to improve intelligence gathering and outpace and outmanoeuvre criminals.
But we know that to truly make phone theft a problem of the past, we need to do more. That’s why this year I’m investing record amounts of nearly £5 million from City Hall to smash the phone gangs and end phone theft for good.
This unprecedented funding will support the Met to conduct more enforcement blitzes and target known offenders, as well as to set up a new mobile phone Command Cell to coordinate intelligence and provide real-time responses to phone theft and robbery in the West End.
The funding will also support the Met to work together with Trading Standards to go after the dodgy shops that sell stolen phones in our city.
I'm determined to use every tool at my disposal to stop phone theft in the capital, but we also need more support from the phone industry. It’s still too easy, and too profitable, for criminals to wipe and sell on stolen phones, and this has got to change.
Just as the automotive industry made it harder for criminals to steal car stereos, mobile phone companies need to step up. They have the power to implement robust technical measures and block stolen phones taken overseas from accessing cloud services, which would radically reduce their value, disincentivise profiteering criminals, and help put an end to this wretched trade.
Phones have become a huge part of our lives. We use them to work, socialise, travel and pay the bills. They’re not just communication devices – they're cameras, calendars, to do lists, personal navigators and sources of information and entertainment.
They’re also deeply personal – containing our favourite photos and videos, memories and messages. When they get stolen from people, it’s not just an inconvenience or a significant financial hit; it can also be extremely upsetting.
Thankfully, things are already heading in the right direction - with new figures showing that there were 10,000 fewer phones stolen in London in 2025 compared to the year before. And I’m confident that we can continue this progress with our new funding. Because the truth is, we are winning the wider war on crime in our city - much to the frustration of those with an anti-London agenda, who constantly want to talk our city down.
Last year, we got our per capita homicide rate down to its lowest level in recorded history – lower than Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Milan, Madrid, Toronto and major US cities including LA and New York.
Our homicide rate for under-25s is now three times lower than when I set up my Violence Reduction Unit in 2019.
We’ve seen reductions in knife crime, gun crime and personal robbery. And since the start of this year, robberies are down 46 per cent in key hotspot areas, with thefts down by more than a quarter. You’re now less likely to be a victim of violent crime in London than anywhere else in the UK.
Keeping Londoners safe is my biggest priority as Mayor, and I’m proud of the progress we’re making. Now, with this new investment, I’m determined to build on this momentum and stamp out phone theft in our city.
Sadiq Khan is the Labour Mayor of London.
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