Is London finally winning its mobile phone theft war?
London's Metropolitan Police report a significant drop in mobile phone thefts in the West End, attributing the decline to increased police presence. Citywide, overall crime offences fell from 250,000 to 215,000, with neighbourhood crime down 14 percent and a 36 percent reduction in Westminster. However, thousands of phone thefts still occur weekly, and organized crime networks continue to traffic stolen devices abroad.
- ▪Police presence helped halve mobile phone thefts in the West End over the past year.
- ▪Total recorded offences across London fell from 250,000 to 215,000, with neighbourhood crime down 14 percent.
- ▪Westminster saw the largest neighbourhood crime reduction at 36 percent, covering major tourist areas.
- ▪Criminal gangs have been arrested for handling thousands of stolen phones destined for markets in China and other countries.
Sydney Morning Herald publishes from Australia and files mainly under world. We currently carry 3,505 of its stories.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.