City of London Police initiative reduces phone thefts by 30%

Proactive action by the City of London Police to prevent phone snatching this year has seen a nearly 30% reduction in the crime.

Figures released by the force show the number of reported phones snatched in the Square Mile is down in the first four months of 2025, compared with the previous year.

The findings are being released as the force announces Op Swipe, a new operation introduced in the City, demonstrated today by an intensification day of policing action.

Since the start of the year there have been 213 phones reported stolen in the City of London. For the same period between 1 January and 30 April last year, there were 294 phone snatching reports.

Officers will be out in phone snatching hot spots to deter, detect, apprehend and prevent phone snatching.

Police visibility will be increased across the square mile, supported by dedicated resources in the control room who will be closely watching using the City’s extensive CCTV network.

The force’s Cycle Team will be seizing illegal e-bikes and will be joined by Metropolitan Police officers on Surron bikes to demonstrate their tactical capabilities. The City of London Police has seized over 500 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters since July 2023.

“Having your phone swiped has a huge impact on people’s lives, the stealing of an expensive device also makes someone a risk of fraudulent activity. It’s a horrible crime and our message is clear, we won’t tolerate it in the City.

“We’ve made it a priority to bring phone snatchers before the courts and we’ve introduced initiatives such as our blue plaque campaign to prevent people from having their phones taken by criminals in the first place.  We’re also marking phones making the device less desirable to thieves and giving us a better chance of getting recovered phones back to victims.

“Early results of Operation Swipe are positive, bucking the trend in the rise of this prevalent crime, but we’re going the extra mile to keep the City safe and feeling safe for residents, businesses and visitors.”

Deputy Commissioner Paul Betts, City of London Police.

From the over 1,000 stolen phones recovered by the City of London Police over the last two years, fewer than half have been returned because the owner could not be located.

To make stolen phones traceable, the force yesterday offered a phone marking service to the public, which allows devices to be uniquely marked, helping police quickly identify and return stolen phones to victims when recovered.

If a phone is found, the markings will make it easier for officers to track ownership and ensure that property is returned promptly. The force is also asking people to set up medical ID contact on their phone. This would allow someone, like a police officer, access to a next of kin details when the phone is locked, ensuring it gets returned to its owner if recovered.

Following on from the successful tagging on streets where real phone snatches have taken place, the force is now putting plaques where phone snatchers have been arrested. For example, a plaque will be placed at the spot London’s most notorious phone snatcher, Sonny Stringer was caught.

City of London Police’s phone snatching work forms a key part of the new three-year policing plan published today to keep people safe and feeling safe. The plan sets out how the force will achieve its new vision of ‘a trusted and inclusive police service, keeping the City of London safe and transforming the national policing response to fraud, economic and cyber crime’. 

Figures show that around £7,000 a day was defrauded from victims following the theft of their mobile phone. Action Fraud, the reporting service for fraud and cyber crime, says that this type of fraud is becoming more widespread, with criminals most commonly gaining access to banking, cryptocurrency and credit applications installed on mobile phones. Money or funds are then transferred out of victim accounts, or purchases are made using installed applications.

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