Metropolitan police chief urges phone companies to make stolen devices unusable
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has called on the UK Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to compel mobile phone companies to ensure that stolen phones are permanently disabled, making them impossible to reuse or resell.
According to him, the goal is to “brick” stolen devices so they become useless to criminals, reducing the incentive for phone theft across the country.
London has been widely described as one of the hotspots for mobile phone theft in Europe, with an estimated 200 to 300 devices stolen daily. The city is also responsible for a large share of phone theft cases across England and Wales.
Rowley noted that collaboration between police and tech companies like Apple is already improving security. New software updates on iPhones now require biometric authentication such as Face ID or Touch ID for sensitive actions, making it more difficult for thieves to reset or resell stolen devices.
He also revealed that the Metropolitan Police has begun sharing intelligence with Apple to track whether stolen phones are later reactivated on mobile networks, helping authorities map how and where stolen devices are being circulated globally.
Authorities believe that many stolen phones are exported and sold abroad, with some police operations uncovering large-scale trafficking networks moving tens of thousands of devices internationally.
Rowley said that if stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their resale value would collapse, significantly reducing the motivation for theft.
The Metropolitan Police has also introduced more technology-driven policing strategies, including drones, e-bikes, and live facial recognition systems to target phone snatchers. These efforts have contributed to a reported drop in phone theft incidents in recent years.
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has also previously criticised mobile companies, urging them to implement stronger security measures such as a “kill switch” that would make stolen devices unusable immediately after theft.
