Phone thefts in London plummet by 50% in last year as murder rate falls to lowest level in history

Phone thefts across London have plummeted over the last year, while murder rates have fallen to their lowest levels per capita since records began.

Statistics released today show neighbourhood crime, which includes theft, robbery and burglary, fell by 14 per cent, more than 35,000 offences, in the 12 months to June.

The Met figures showed drop of 23 per cent (23,311) in thefts from people, 11 per cent (2,943) in personal robberies and nine per cent (8,737) in vehicle offences.

Offences dropped by more than a third in Westminster, with nearly 14,000 fewer offences during the year, while the Met’s largest crackdown on phone thefts resulted in 13,000 fewer mobile phone thefts across London and numbers halving in the West End.

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Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: "The Met is also deploying technology such as live facial recognition cameras, drones and high-powered e-bikes to identify suspects and disrupt criminal activity.

"As a result, officers are now arresting around 1,000 suspects every month, while seizing knives, drugs, illegal e-bikes, stolen mobile phones and other suspected stolen property.”

It follows Sir Mark’s previous calls for phone manufacturers to make stolen devices "unusable bricks".

In June, Apple announced a global security update making its stolen device protection feature the default setting for users, a move intended to make stolen phones harder to access and resell.

Meanwhile, sources close to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan reacted to today's figures by taking aim at controversial billionaire Elon Musk and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

The source told The Times: "Whether Musk, Farage or the captains of online disinformation, they want to paint London as a dystopian hellhole.

"These latest stats on high-volume crime show it is coming down even further. London is getting safer."

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London Mayor Lord Khan said: “In the West End alone, we have seen phone thefts halved and 14,000 fewer neighbourhood crimes, following a doubling of officers on patrol in the heart of the capital.

"A new Command Cell in the heart of the West End, funded by City Hall, is also serving as a central point to share intelligence, identify suspects and help prevent robberies, theft and anti-social behaviour."

London also saw the fewest murders of those aged under 25 this century.

The murder rate in London is at its lowest level in recorded history on a per capita basis, with the figure falling below Berlin, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and every single US state.

The reduction in youth violence has been particularly striking, with 2025 recording the fewest victims aged under 25 this century.

Teenage deaths fell by 73 per cent since 2021, dropping from 30 to just eight last year.

The City Hall's Violence Reduction Unit, established in 2019, has played a significant role in this decline.

The unit has delivered 550,000 interventions designed to prevent young people from being drawn into gang activity.

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