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Almost half of reported phone thefts in London in recent years were not taken forwards for investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Sadiq Khan’s office has revealed.
Responding to a written question from Tory assembly member Susan Hall, the mayor’s team disclosed that in 2022 only 51 per cent of mobile phone thefts were “screened in for further investigation”, rising to 52 per cent in 2023.
Mr Khan’s office said: “All crime reported to the Metropolitan Police is initially assessed for viability of reasonable lines of enquiry to identify a suspect or any leads, before being allocated.
“This investigation commences at the first point of contact with the victim, whether that be face-to-face on the street or in a police station, online, or over the telephone. The duration of those investigations varies according to the offence and circumstances.”
It was revealed earlier this year that for some crimes, such as thefts from motor vehicles, as many as two thirds of reported offences were being ‘screened out’ by the Met - though for more serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, almost every reported case is investigated.
Ms Hall, who stood against Mr Khan in the mayoral election this year, said: “We know that a phone is stolen at least every six minutes in the capital, but Londoners will be shocked to hear that just half of these cases are taken further for investigation, with even fewer leading to criminal charges.
“The mayor committed to holding a roundtable on phone theft earlier this year and it simply didn’t happen - clearly these crimes and their many victims are not a priority to him.”
Mr Khan held a roundtable discussion last year with representatives from the UK’s most popular mobile phone brands, but had promised to hold another such session “early in the new year” which is yet to take place - though the mayor’s team has said it will happen “soon”.
The mayor believes that phone thefts can, at least to some extent, be ‘designed out’ by the manufacturers, who could make the devices harder for thieves to use and sell on without the right passcode.
He has pointed to the fact that car radio thefts were once a common crime, but manufacturers altered their design by making them impossible to use once disconnected from their vehicle, which successfully reduced the incentive to steal them.
Last year’s roundtable included figures from Apple, Samsung and Google, with the mayor calling it a “successful” meeting.
Responding to Ms Hall’s comments, a spokesman for Mr Khan said: “Nothing is more important to the mayor than keeping Londoners safe. There has been a nationwide increase in robberies and thefts and this national trend is being driven by mobile phone crime.
“In response, the mayor has set up a new Reducing Robbery Partnership which brings together the police, local authorities and businesses to identify and target hotspots for phone robbery.
“But it’s also too easy and profitable for criminals right now to repurpose and sell on stolen phones. That’s why the mayor and Met Commissioner are calling on world-leading mobile phone companies to work with the police to design out the theft and robbery of mobile phones. We need to make it much harder for criminals to make money stealing people’s phones.”
The Met Police said that it is working “with local businesses in hotspot areas to prioritise support for mobile theft, and break the cycle of stolen mobiles entering criminal markets”.
They stressed the importance of victims or witnesses contacting the police as soon as a robbery occurs - saying that the first hour after a robbery takes place, known as the “Golden Hour”, is critical for enabling officers to secure crucial forensic evidence.
