The Mayor of London has announced plans to invest an additional £4.5 million in the upcoming Budget to support a major crackdown on mobile phone theft across the capital. The measures include a proposal to establish a new mobile phone Command Cell in the West End to coordinate intelligence and provide real‑time response to theft and robbery.
The investment comes as the Metropolitan Police reports significant reductions in crime linked to targeted enforcement activity. Latest figures show:
- Robberies down 46% in key London hotspots
- Thefts down by more than 25%
- A 12.3% fall in mobile phone theft, from 81,365 offences in 2024 to around 71,391 in 2025 — a decrease of 10,000 stolen devices in a single year
Record funding has enabled a doubling of police officers in the West End, contributing to a 25% reduction in theft in that area.
The proposed mobile phone Command Cell, based in the West End, will oversee coordinated enforcement, intelligence sharing and rapid response to incidents. The new funding will also support additional enforcement blitzes, proactive targeting of known offenders, the deployment of drones, and the expansion of specialist police officers trained to use e‑bikes to pursue suspects in busy areas.
Trading Standards and the Met will also receive funding to establish a Stolen Phone Retail Taskforce, designed to clamp down on shops buying and selling stolen devices.
The Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit will receive funding to expand its Reducing Robbery programme, focused on protecting young people around schools and in high‑risk areas.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said:
“We’re taking bold action to make the West End and the rest of London a no-go area for phone thieves.
“Far too many Londoners have been the victim of phone theft and I’m determined to stamp it out.
“We have made real progress reducing high volume crime – but I recognise the personal impact of mobile phone theft and how awful it is when someone’s photographs, contacts, messages and personal information is stolen.
“I’m pleased to propose an additional £4.5m to support the Metropolitan Police smash the phone gangs – with a new Police Command Cell focussed on taking out gang bosses as well as robbers and snatchers.
“This funding will be invested in more zero-tolerance enforcement blitzes, and new technology like drones and Sur-Ron bikes which are turbo-charging the Met’s effort to bear down and be tough on mobile phone crime and make London’s streets safer.”
This latest investment builds on the results of Operation Reckoning, an intelligence‑led Met initiative targeting organised criminal groups linked to large‑scale mobile phone theft.
So far, the operation has:
- Disrupted a major network suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones abroad
- Achieved hundreds of arrests
- Seized thousands of handsets
- Used drones and specialised Sur‑Ron e‑bikes to track and arrest suspects
During a four‑week enforcement blitz linked to the operation, police made 248 arrests related to phone theft and seized around 770 stolen devices, with an additional 122 arrests for other offences.
Enhanced policing over the winter period has delivered further reductions across Camden, Croydon, Shoreditch and the West End, including theft down by 1,278 offences (‑26%), robbery down by 269 offences (‑46%), and violence with injury down by 159 offences (‑33%).
The new investment aims to build on this momentum and support ongoing efforts to reduce high‑volume crime, protect the public and improve safety in London’s busiest neighbourhoods.
Image credit: iStock
