Met Police urges tech firms to block reuse of stolen phones

The Metropolitan Police is urging technology companies to make stolen phones harder to reuse and less profitable for criminals.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has asked the home secretary to introduce legislation requiring phone companies to publish data on stolen devices and to enforce measures that would render handsets effectively unusable.

On Thursday the force said it had begun sharing data with Apple to build a global picture of what happens to stolen phones, including whether they are reconnected to networks.

"If stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their value collapses, and so does the incentive to steal them," Sir Mark said.

He added that only a minority of stolen phones were now being reactivated compared with a few months ago, making it harder for criminals to profit.

The request follows an ultimatum Sir Mark issued to firms in March to take steps that would reduce the appeal of stolen phones for resale.

London records some of the highest rates of personal robbery and theft per thousand people in England and Wales.

The international trade in stolen phones is worth millions of dollars, with devices taken in London fetching higher prices in countries such as China because they face fewer government restrictions there.

The Met said the number of thefts involving phones fell by 14,000 between June 2025 and May 2026, an 18 percent drop from the previous year.

In Westminster, where phones are involved in between 69 percent and 72 percent of thefts from the person and personal robberies each week, incidents have fallen 45.8 percent so far this year.

Kate Adams, senior vice-president of government affairs at Apple, said keeping users, devices and data safe is central to the company's work and includes building security features that reduce the motivation for theft.

The Met said Samsung and Google are also introducing security changes to address the problem.

In addition to pressing tech firms, the force has deployed e-bikes, drones and live facial recognition to reduce street thefts in London.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said drones serve as the force's eyes in the sky, sending live footage to a control room to help identify thieves on e-bikes.

In February Twist also called on phone providers to make devices harder to reprogram, noting that stolen phones are often exported because they remain easy to reset and resell abroad.

Last year the Met said it had dismantled an international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.