Phone thefts hit record high in London with 37 a day snatched in West End alone

London’s phone crime epidemic has reached an all time high – with more than 81,000 thefts reported last year.

Data shared by the Met Police revealed that 37 people have their phones snatched in the West End alone each day.

Victims are habitually targeted at key visitor hotspots, with just under half of the devices (40,000) taken in 2024 stolen in the capital’s cultural hub, an area which also accounts for a third of all thefts in London.

The Scotland Yard figures showed a 20 per cent increase in year on year phone theft reports.

More than 230,000 phones have been reported stolen in the capital over the last four years.

But the true picture remains unknown, as many unreported crimes mean the total figure is likely to be far higher.

Stolen devices often fall in the hands of criminal gangs that sell them overseas or dismantle them for parts in a £50million black market.

Many thefts are carried out by thieves on electric bikes or pickpockets.

As well as near popular night life spots in the West End, other theft hotspots include Bloomsbury, Waterloo and Regent’s Park.

People are advised to stay on well lit streets which are more likely to have CCTV coverage and keep all valuable items out of sight.

The Met’s new Flying Squad unit arrested ten people involved in phone snatching gangs this week.

Addressing concerns that police aren’t probing cases enough, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said that officers often lack sufficient information and evidence to start criminal proceedings.

Forces instead focus on pursuing gangs, frequent offenders and preventivemeasures, a spokesman told the Times.

Tech firms are also investigating ways to make their devices watertight against criminals, including tools to allow owners to remotely lock and wipe their phones.

A spokesperson for the Met said that while phone thefts had ‘boomed globally’, reported cases were 15 per cent down in London in the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2024.

They said: ‘We understand phone theft is still a serious problem and has boomed globally. London is not immune, and we are determined to target criminal gangs – many of whom steal phones and sell them overseas.

‘We are continuing to step up our work to prevent and tackle this issue, with increased patrols and plain clothed officers in hotspot areas to deter and catch criminals. We’re also improving the way we as track phone data to identify offenders.

‘Since January 2025, we’ve made 526 arrests of offenders suspected of mobile phone and theft robbery.’

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