Westminster recorded more than 20,700 mobile phone thefts and robberies last year, making it the worst hotspot in London by a substantial margin, according to data obtained by the Daily Star through Freedom of Information requests to every police force in England and Wales.
The figures show that London accounted for the vast majority of mobile phone thefts and robberies in England and Wales, with more than 72,000 offences in the capital – equivalent to 87% of the national total. Nationally, police forces recorded at least 83,000 crimes where people had their phones snatched or robbed from their person in 2025, down 12% from almost 94,000 in 2024, though still higher than the 80,000 recorded in 2023.
London’s phone theft rate far exceeds rest of England and Wales
London’s phone theft rate works out as the equivalent of 795 offences for every 100,000 people in the capital, compared to 21 for every 100,000 outside London. The capital’s figures are likely to be skewed by the huge numbers of tourists who visit every year and become victims of crime, the data suggests.
Like the rest of the country, London saw the number of phone thefts fall last year. The 72,000 snatches and muggings in 2025 were down from nearly 81,000 in 2024, a fall of around 13% – or one in every eight fewer than a year ago.
Mayor’s office highlights falling thefts and police investment
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.”
The spokesperson added: “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.”
Met Police partners with Apple to block stolen phones
The Metropolitan Police Service has recently launched a new scheme with tech giant Apple that will make stolen phones unusable, following 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.”
Rowley added: “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.
