200 snatch thefts a day in UK as crimes soar by 150% in a year

3 September 2024, 00:01

By Fraser Knight.

@Fraser_Knight

The number of phones, watches and bags being stolen on Britain’s streets has soared to the highest rate in a decade, according to new figures.

The Home Office has raised concerns at the increase of snatch thefts, saying tech bosses are going to be called in to tackle the rising demand for second hand smartphones.

Figures from the ONS show around 78,000 people had one grabbed from them on the streets in the last year - an increase of 152%.

In the year to March 2023-2024 there were 78,000 of the offences - compared to 31,000 in the same period from 2022-23.

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “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.

“This new government is determined to crack down on snatch theft, knife-enabled robbery, and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities, and we are working to get thousands more uniformed officers into our communities to restore neighbourhood policing.

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“Phone companies must ensure that any stolen phones can 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.

"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."

LBC has heard e-bikes and mopeds are making it more difficult for police to catch criminals, with new tech now being developed to give officers portable devices to bring them to a halt.

It comes after one officer told LBC earlier this year that they’re “causing a real headache” for them.

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Sergeant Dan Naylor, a plain-clothes officer with the Metropolitan Police, said during an operation in Central London: “They’ll come into the area and do a cluster of snatches and they can do up to 20 in an hour.

"They’re on electric bikes which are very fast, and they can easily change direction.

"It’s almost like we would come into work, they’ll come into central London, commit the crimes, and then go home."

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also told LBC that criminals are delimiting regulated bikes so that they can go “up to 50 or 60 miles an hour”.

“They’re tearing down alleyways escaping and you can’t do a pursuit in that context,” he said.

Ministers have warned young people to be particularly vigilant as they return to school and university.

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Commander Richard Smith, from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “Criminals often target some of the most vulnerable in society, such as children, with threats that violence may be used, making robbery particularly traumatic.

“We continue to target those habitual criminals responsible for prolific offending, whilst working to prevent young people from being into this type of offending.

“However, we know that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. Manufacturers and the tech industry have an important role in reducing opportunities for criminals to benefit from the resale of stolen handsets.”

London has become a hotspot for phone thefts in recent years, with figures suggesting one is stolen every six minutes.

Last month, a brazen thief was jailed for 30 weeks after two officers watched him snatch a phone from a victim’s back pocket.

Kadi Nasser, 25, was one of around 300 people to have been arrested in the capital during a four-week period to the start of July.

The Met claims Central London has also seen a 23.8% decrease in reports of robbery since April.

Detective Superintendent Saj Hussain, who leads on phone robbery and theft in the Met, said: “Met officers are targeting resources to hotspot areas, such as Westminster and Croydon, with increased patrols and plain clothes officers. These deter criminals and make officers more visibly available to members of the community.

"We encourage people to report as soon as they can whenever they have been a victim of robbery or theft, so officers can attend the scene and investigate swiftly."

Scotland Yard also said work between the police and the phone industry is underway to “design out” the ability for phones to be stolen.

They said that includes asking system providers to explore whether lost or stolen devices can be prevented from being re-registered with ‘cloud’ services by a second person.