A smartphone is stolen every six minutes in this capital city
According to the BBC, mobile phones are being stolen in the city of London at the rate of one every six minutes. Last year, 90,864 handsets were stolen in London based on data from the Met police. That means nearly 250 phones a day were swiped in the city. The mayor of London and the Met commissioner told smartphone manufacturers that they should "design out" incentives that give criminals the desire to steal the phones.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Met chief Sir Mark Rowley said in an open letter that software designers must "develop solutions to make this crime less rewarding." The pair urged mobile phone providers to work with law enforcement and lawmakers. The concern is that crime is rising in London and phones were involved in 38% of personal robberies in the capital city of London.
Asking phone manufacturers to "design out" incentives for criminals to steal phones is not as goofy as it sounds. When a rash of car radios and satellite navigation gear got stolen out of automobiles in the city, car manufacturers worked with police to reduce the thefts by integrating the radios and satellite receivers into the dashboard.
The mayor of London wants phone manufacturers to make their devices less desirable to thieves in London
Met chief Sir Mark said, ""The current practice of allowing stolen mobiles to be re-registered by new users within the phone industry inadvertently enables a criminal market which drives robbery, thefts, and violent offending in London. We've been really clear there are root causes of violence we cannot tackle alone. We need partners to step up to the plate and work alongside us to break this cycle of violence."
The data from the police shows that more young people are involved in these robberies both as the victims and the perpetrators of these crimes. Smartphone owners between the age of 14-20 walking in London are especially at risk of having their smartphones stolen. Mobile UK, representing wireless networks in the market, said, ": "We welcome the opportunity to work with the Met, the mayor's office, device manufacturers, and the wider industry to continue to reduce this crime further."
London's Mayor Khan said, "The spiraling cost of living threatens to exacerbate the drivers of violence and robberies, which we know disproportionately impact young people." He added that it is "simply too easy and profitable for criminals right now to repurpose and sell on stolen phones."
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