UK to crack down on surge in phone, bag snatching on streets

London: The British government on Tuesday pledged to crack down on so-called “snatch thefts” after cases of phones and bags being stolen soared by more than 150 per cent in the last year.

An estimated 78,000 people have had their phones or bags grabbed from them on the streets, with policing intelligence suggesting that this is being driven by increased demand for second-hand smartphones, both in the UK and overseas.

To tackle this, technology companies and manufacturers have been invited to a Home Office summit to explore new innovations that could take on this illegal market in phones.

The plans will focus on building on anti-theft smartphone features that some tech firms have already rolled out and explore ways of making stolen phones impossible to reuse.

“With new phones coming to the market and young people going back to school and university, many of us will have a new phone in our hands at this time of the year. These figures are troubling and the government is determined to do whatever’s necessary to protect people entitled to walk the streets without the threat of robbery,” said Dame Diana Johnson, UK Policing Minister.

“Phone companies must ensure that any stolen phones could be quickly, easily and permanently disabled rather than re-registered for sale on the second-hand market, and we will be meeting them soon to discuss what further action is required to make that happen,” she said.

The minister said the newly-elected Labour government’s “Safer Streets mission” is determined to “crack down on snatch theft, knife-enabled robbery, and other crimes” that make people feel unsafe while getting thousands more uniformed officers to enhance neighbourhood policing.

“If we work together, government, tech companies and law enforcement can break the business model of the phone thieves and moped gangs who rely on this trade,” she added.

The initiative follows new Home Office analysis commissioned by ministers concerned by growing reports of such thefts.

Crime Survey data estimates for the last 12 months indicate the equivalent of more than 200 snatch thefts every day on streets across England and Wales, the highest rate in more than a decade and almost 60 per cent higher than the annual average since 2012 to 2013.

The data also showed overall theft from the person, which includes snatch and stealth thefts as well as attempts to steal from the person, increased by more than a third in the past year and over one-third (36 per cent) of such thefts involved theft of a mobile phone in the past year.

“Personal robbery can have a devastating impact on victims, leaving them with trauma which can be lasting. Criminals often target some of the most vulnerable in society, such as children, with threats that violence may be used, making robbery particularly traumatic,” said Commander Richard Smith, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for Personal Robbery.

Police forces recently used Operation Calibre, a national week of action against personal robbery, to target their activity in over 1,250 known hotspot areas, such as in parts of tourist-heavy central London, to arrest suspects of such crimes.

The Home Office has said it will task Operation Opal, the national police intelligence unit, to launch an intelligence probe to gather urgent intel on the criminals who steal mobile phones, and where these devices end up.

This is intended to provide a “stronger picture” of the stolen mobile phone market. Local police will also continue to “surge police patrols” in hotspots and areas most at risk of serious violence, including robberies at knifepoint.