Why phone snatchers ‘should be treated as swiftly and firmly as rioters’

Phone snatchers should person the aforesaid ‘firm and swift’ attraction rioters has this summertime for thefts to stop, the caput of the Metropolitan Police’s phone robbery squad said.

Detective Superintendent Saj Hussain has insisted those caught snatching devices should beryllium dealt with ‘as swiftly and firmly arsenic rioters were’ this summer arsenic stealing 4 phones is simply a ‘similar level of criminality’.

He told Metro: ‘There was a crisp driblet disconnected of the fig of radical joining successful the riots aft radical began to person situation sentences of astir 4 years.

‘We request justness for victims of telephone snatching. But it is hard to support a unfortunate engaged erstwhile it takes a twelvemonth conscionable to get the suspect into court.’

More than 52,000 phones were stolen successful London past year, with the worst-hit borough was the City of Westminster, with 18,863 incidents reported.

Camden was the 2nd worst affected, with 4,806 incidents, followed by Southwark (4,376), Hackney (2,761), Newham (2,585), Lambeth (2,394) and Islington (2,117).

This fig made up much than fractional of reported telephone thefts successful each of England and Wales.

Meanwhile those who took to the streets to articulation far-right riots crossed the UK this summer, including successful London, recovered themselves receiving twelvemonth agelong sentences successful conscionable weeks.

Detective Hussain admitted the Met needed to bash much to effort and find those liable for stealing the phones, particularly arsenic immoderate radical effort to way down their devices themselves.

One unfortunate Akara Etteh went to 2 abstracted locations to effort and find his telephone arsenic helium was ‘fuelled by adrenaline and anger’.

He told the BBC: ‘It was beauteous risky. The telephone is expensive. We enactment hard to gain that money, to beryllium capable to bargain the handset, and idiosyncratic other says “screw that”.’

He said helium yet gave up aft seeing his telephone was tracked to China.

Detective Hussain said: ‘We tin bash amended successful recovering phones. We are trying to get up of the curve and we are opening to spot patterns form.

‘The areas with the champion transport links are the hotspots, and places with entree to the Elizabeth Line has seen an summation successful thefts seemingly owed to its opening.’

But helium added the telephone companies tin besides assistance much with stopping thefts, including making it intolerable to re-register mobile phones.

He said: ‘This would assistance quash the lucrative second-hand marketplace for phones if they can’t easy beryllium wiped and registered to a caller number.

‘They could besides marque definite tracking apps are adjacent much close and tin beryllium seen arsenic a reliable portion of evidence.’

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