A phone is reported stolen in London every six minutes. And last Thursday night, mine became one of them. Seamlessly taken from my pocket on Charing Cross Road without me realising, before it was switched off — and pinged on Find My iPhone a couple of hours later on the A12 in Ilford.
'Welcome to London' indeed!
My first response was to ask the manager of the pub next to where it happened if anything had been handed in — or if they had CCTV. He simply replied: “Nah mate, happens outside all the time. They take them and run straight to the Tube or jump on a bus. And the police do nothing. It’s gone.”
Surely not?
He was right. After hearing the experiences of friends and people I’d met through previous reporting on this, getting my phone stolen in London at some point felt like a statistical inevitability.
Within 48 hours of reporting it via 101, the Met closed the case with no investigation or attempt by any officer to contact me. Like many Londoners, my phone is the most expensive thing I own. That it can be taken from me with no attempt to retrieve it at all is deeply troubling.
I'm afraid it's just inevitable, when no-one is holding the police to account for their failures.
I’m aware it’s difficult to trace a phone once it’s been switched off — but other victims report telling the police exactly where it is on Find My iPhone and they still do nothing. The main use it seems of reporting a phone stolen is to get a crime number which can then be used to make an insurance claim. I didn’t have insurance — but I have now bought it for my replacement phone. But this cycle just encourages phone theft. If victims have insurance, they get a new phone anyway and there’s no pressure for the police to investigate. So thieves know the police simply won’t bother to find them and keep stealing, effectively decriminalising phone theft.
Indeed so!
As someone who isn’t particularly trusting in the police, their refusal to even attempt to find such an important item hardly fills me with goodwill. Like assurances that police will attend every burglary, making victims of crime at least feel listened to feels like an easy win in rebuilding that trust.
Your mistake is assuming that that's important to them, You should join Twitter and see what they say about that, anonymously.
My mate down the pub says that only if there was some way a small explosive charge could be fitted in the phone, to go off if an unauthorised attempt was made to either gather the data, or clear it so it could be sold on. The ever increasing numbers of phone thieves with missing fingers could give the gangs cause for concern.
ReplyDeleteMind you, mmdtp's sense of social justice is a little to the right of Vlad the Impaler.
Penseivat
The saddest thing is to read about the phone being "the most expensive thing" she owns. Get a life love.
ReplyDeleteBill
If I didn't own a car or my house then my phone would be fairly high on my list of most expensive possessions. I don't wear expensive clothes so, off the top of my head I can only think of my sports watch and my piano that are worth more.
DeleteStonyground.
I can't fathom how the authorities are ignoring this. Phones have become fundamentally important to many people (that can be decried but not seriously denied). At some point, someone is going to track down their stolen phone and then kill the thief to get it back. Since the Police have essentially abdicated responsibility in these matters, who is going to stand and say the killer was wrong?
ReplyDeletePlus use a £5 dumbphone when out.
ReplyDeleteWhy do people put their entire lives on a small electronic device and then walk round a place like London ,known for its thieves and vagabonds,and still not take precautions by putting the device somewhere safe ?
ReplyDeletePut it in an inside pocket fastened with velcro so that it pulls open with tug that can be felt if someone tries to get it.
"...only if there was some way a small explosive charge could be fitted in the phone, to go off if an unauthorised attempt was made ..."
ReplyDeleteGiven how often I mistype my phone PIN, I'd be wary of buying one with that function!
"The saddest thing is to read about the phone being "the most expensive thing" she owns."
Why? It's likely to be quite correct. It's the same for me, apart from some jewellery and antique furniture.
"At some point, someone is going to track down their stolen phone and then kill the thief to get it back."
I'm surprised it hasn't already happened, but then, look at the targets.
"...use a £5 dumbphone when out."
For what? All it can do is make calls.
"...and still not take precautions by putting the device somewhere safe ?"
The point of having it is to use its functions. It'd be like keeping your car in the garage and walking everywhere to deter car thieves.