Police forces in England and Wales recorded at least 83,000 crimes where people had their phones snatched or robbed from their person in 2025
Nearly 230 people a day had their mobile phones stolen from them last year, mostly in London, but the numbers are falling. Police forces in England and Wales recorded at least 83,000 crimes where people had their phones snatched or robbed from their person in 2025.
That’s down 12% from almost 94,000 in 2024, though is still more than the 80,000 that were nicked in 2023.
The figures have been revealed thanks to Freedom of Information requests sent by the Daily Star to every police force in England and Wales.
Each force was asked to provide the number of crimes recorded for “theft from person” and “robbery of personal property” where the item taken was recorded as a mobile phone. A total of nine of the 44 forces didn’t provide figures, which means that the total is likely to be much higher.
London is the undisputed epicentre of phone thefts in the country,
There were more than 72,000 thefts and robberies of phones from people in the capital last year. That’s 87% of all those in England and Wales.
It works out as the equivalent of 795 for every 100,000 people in London. That’s compared to 21 for every 100,000 outside the capital. However, London’s phone theft rate is likely to be skewed by the huge numbers of tourists who visit the capital every year and become victims of crime.
Westminster is the epicentre of the epicentre, with 20,700 thefts and robberies of phones last year, more than any borough within the capital. Like the rest of the country though, London did see the number of phone thefts fall last year.
The 72,000 snatches and muggings was down from nearly 81,000 in 2024. That’s a fall of around 13% which works out as one in every eight fewer than a year ago.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Mobile phone thefts fell by 13,000 offences in the last year across London – and have nearly halved in the West End – thanks to an intensive effort involving the police and partner organisations.
“Backed by the Mayor’s record £1.26 billion investment, the Met has stepped up neighbourhood policing. With more officers in hotspot areas and new drones and Sur-Ron bikes, the police are turbo charging their effort to bear down and be tough on mobile phone crime, allowing the Met to take the fight directly to those stealing phones. In the heart of the West End, Sadiq’s newly opened Command Cell is now serving as a central point for police and partners to share intelligence, identify suspects and co-ordinate action to make our streets safer for Londoners and visitors alike.
“But we are not complacent and know there is still more to do which is why Sadiq will continue to prioritise neighbourhood policing and push the mobile phone industry to go much further in preventing stolen phones being used, sold and repurposed, building a safer London for everyone.”
The Metropolitan Police Service has recently launched a new scheme with tech giants Apple which will make stolen phones unusable. The scheme follows a crackdown by the Met on phone thefts.
Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley said: “I gave an ultimatum to tech firms – take urgent steps to prevent stolen phones from being resold and reused, or we will call on Government to step in and legislate.
“For the first time, we are routinely sharing intelligence on stolen devices, building a joint picture of how these phones move and whether they reappear in circulation. That partnership is already making a difference. If stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their value collapses, and so does the incentive to steal them. We are driving up the risk for offenders while cutting off the reward.
“Policing is playing its part. In the West End, where this crime was most concentrated, phone theft has fallen by 50 per cent through relentless, targeted policing. But we have also gone further by working directly with Apple to address the global market that has allowed this crime to thrive.
“This is an important step, but it must not stop here. If you are stealing phones in London, the reality is changing fast. The opportunities are shrinking, the risks are rising, and we are determined to dismantle this criminal model completely.”
In June, officers launched a ten-day focused crackdown on phone theft across London, codenamed Operation Reckoning. It involved carrying out arrests of prolific and violent phone thieves, executing search warrants at shops suspected of handling stolen goods, and deploying specialist pursuit drivers, known as ‘interceptors’, to track and detain offenders on e-bikes.
Only about 1% of reported cases result in a formal police charge. In London, where snatches are most common, roughly 95% of cases are closed without a suspect being identified, and just 0.3% result in a charge.
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