314 Mobile Phones A Day Stolen In December

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 134 months ago
314 Mobile Phones A Day Stolen In December

Ever had your phone stolen? You won't be surprised to hear you're not alone, but you might be surprised to find just how much company you're in: more than 300 phones were nicked each day in London in December.

Robbery and theft offences increased throughout 2012 and police are warning there's an odd blip which means thefts are more prevalent in January (people playing with the shiny new gadget got for Christmas or snapped up in the sales?). iPhones are the most likely handsets to be stolen, though whether that reflects how many people have them, resale value or inherent recognisability, we don't know.

The Metropolitan police are warning people to be aware of their belongings (in bags and pockets, as well as pub tables and using phones in public). They say that men are more likely to be robbed while women tend to have bags stolen or their phones 'snatched', and people aged 20-30 out having fun are most likely to find their phone gone. The police have released a video of a snatch in action, but we'd rather take a moment to remember a more positive outcome – cue mathematician and Festival of the Spoken Nerd member Matt Parker:

Photo by robbie ewing from the Londonist Flickr pool

Last Updated 15 January 2013