Mobile Phone theft and Robbery

Mobile phone theft and robbery is an organisational priority that your neighbourhood officers continue to focus on.

Over the last few months, we have been talking to Londoners at our community crime fighting events, to better understand exactly what issues you care about mostly on your ward.

Across London and including here on your ward we have heard about mobile phone thefts and robbery.

We continue to increase our patrols,  proactivity and engagement on your ward.

Through precision-led policing driven by intelligence, data and technology we would tackle theft of mobile phones and robbery.

Your local policing team want to work with you in solving these issues.

We would ask that you continue to work with your local policing team and feed in information through the usual channel.

Thieves can be very clever in identifying potential victims and using distraction techniques or threats of violence, but they are also very aware of their surroundings and make a plan on how to steal someone’s phone. We will continue to chase down and arrest those responsible, providing updates when we can. In the meantime, there a number of things you can do to keep yourself safe:

Don’t leave your phone, iPad, tablet or camera unattended, out of your sight, or left on a table. Thieves can grab a phone from a  table in seconds.

Be aware of your surroundings and only use your mobile when it feels safe to.

When you’ve finished using it, put it away.

Secure your phone by choosing a strong pin or password

Set up a tracking app on your phone so you can see where it is from another device like a laptop. Use it as soon as possible, before thieves have a chance to disable it.

Turn off message previews, so that thieves won’t see any messages about reset or login codes when your phone is locked.

Keep a note of your IMEI number (to access, type *#06# on your phone keypad)

Plan your route, especially if you are going somewhere you have not been before. Keep to busy, well-lit streets and walkways. Move with purpose and appear confident. 

We are working on our brand-new strategy for how we police London and we want your help. Our New Met for London: Phase 2 strategy will guide how we deliver on behalf of Londoners over the next three years.