Mobile phone thefts in London rose to a record number of over 116,000 last year - but of these, just 169 suspects were charged, according to statistics.
Figures from the Met Police showed a total of 116,655 mobile phones were stolen in the capital in 2024, amounting to 13 phone thefts per hour or 320 each day
The figures represent an increase of over 50 per cent since 2017, when 77,000 phones were taken, The Daily Mail reports.
Demographic data showed 61,000 victims were female and under 48,000 were men, while the gender of the remaining 7,000 was not recorded.
Last year also saw 1,300 more incidents than in 2023. However, despite the large number of thefts - just 169 suspects were charged - with seven handed a caution.
Last year’s total was equivalent to 13 phones being stolen every hour.
The figures were collated from Freedom of Information requests by campaign group Crush Crime.
The group's founder Dr Lawrence Newport said: "We are in the midst of a phone theft epidemic, and our government is failing to act.
"Our politicians need to wake up to reality: they need to stop this epidemic, and push our justice system to catch, convict and imprison these career criminals.
"Half of all crime is committed by just 10 per cent of offenders, meaning only a small number of career criminals are committing most phone thefts."
Data collected by the organisation showed a total of 684,000 mobile phones were reported stolen in London from 2017 to 2024, with an estimated value of £365 million.
Phone thefts rose to 91,000 in 2019 but drastically reduced during Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions.
By 2023, the number of thefts had resumed to pre-Covid levels, with 115,000 phones reported stolen.
The data showed thefts most commonly occurred in late afternoon and early evening, with 8,231 taken last year between 4pm and 5pm, 8,806 from 5pm to 6pm and a further 8,975 from 6pm to 7pm.
The slot between 6am and 7am had the fewest number of reported thefts, with just 1,036 phones taken during that hour.
The most common handset reported stolen were Apple iPhones, with almost 71,000 swiped from their owners, while 14,000 Samsung phones were also snatched.
Westminster had the highest number of phone thefts at 34,039, followed by Camden at 10,907 and Southwark with 7,316.
