“Statistics from police forces around the country show that more than 17,000 under-16s had mobile phones or MP3 players stolen in 2007, an average of 50 a day.

“Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, called the findings “truly alarming”. They come after a “credit crunch crime wave” was revealed in quarterly crime figures published by the Home Office last week, with increases in fraud, burglary and knifepoint robbery.

“Teachers and police have warned that the fashion for school children to carry expensive mobile phone handsets and MP3 players is leading to them being targeted by thieves and bullies.

“Figures from 43 of Britain’s 52 police forces, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that in the three years to 2007 there were 52,348 reports of phones and MP3 players being stolen from children aged 15 or under.

“The annual total for thefts of phones alone rose from 14,786 in 2005 to 19,321 the following year, before dropping to 16,808 in 2007.

“Jack Wraith, chairman of the Mobile Industry Crime Action Forum, said that children were particularly vulnerable to the theft of personal gadgets.”

Courtesy of The Telegraph article on mobile theft

24 Jan 2009

Home Office Report:

“Information for the report, Mobile Phone Theft, was taken from the British Crime Survey (BCS) 2000, two school surveys and analysis of recorded police robbery figures, and confirms that mobile phone crime has dramatically increased in recent years, rising by 190% since 1995 (subscriber numbers have increased by almost 600% since 1995). Mobile phones are now involved in 28% of all robberies compared to 8% three years ago.

Key findings from the report show that:

Courtesy of the Home Office report on mobile theft. Full report

August 28, 2008

Mobile phone theft costs UK £390 million a year

* One mobile phone stolen every 12 seconds

* Over 2 million mobile phones are stolen every year

Mobile phone thieves are costing the UK £390 million each year according to new figures issued by Halifax. Incidents of the crime are happening so frequently that one mobile phone is stolen every twelve seconds in the UK. There are currently over 37 million mobile phone owners in the UK and over two million mobile phones are stolen annually.

According to the Halifax data, Lancaster was Britain’s mobile phone theft hotspot. In close second came Wirral & Chester then Coventry. Ipswich, High Wycombe and Oxford were the safest places for mobile phone owners.

The most expensive phones were stolen in the Essex towns of Romford & Illford where the average claim amounted to around £300.

With an increase in high profile ‘phone-jacking’ cases – where thieves are snatching phones right from their victims’ grasp as they walk down the street – Halifax recommends a number of simple safety measures (see Top Tips below) such as keeping phones out of sight (especially when not in use) and avoiding using mobile phones when you’re out on the street after dark.

Vicky Emmott from Halifax, comments: “Mobile phones are constantly getting lighter and more compact which makes them easier for opportunistic thieves to swipe. Phone users should avoid ‘walking and talking’ and keep their mobiles out of sight whenever possible.”

Emmott continued: “New technology means that many of us use phones for more than just calls and text messaging. Mobile owners should make sure that all contact numbers, diary entries, pictures, down-loads and ring-tones are backed-up and saved elsewhere if they don’t want to risk losing them completely.”

Top Tips:

Courtesy of the HBOS Halifax report on mobile theft

16th May 2006