Thefts up 8 per cent as bike gangs target smartphones

PICKPOCKETING is on the rise as thieves increasingly target smartphones, official crime stats showed today.

Instances of “theft from the person” recorded by police rose eight per cent in the year to December 2012.

The Office for National Statistics said the increase in this type of crime is accelerating year-on-year.

And anecdotal evidence suggests this is in part driven by thefts of smartphones, including the phenomenon of bike riders stealing phones from people’s hands.

The rise in thefts comes despite figures showing a general fall in crime in England and Wales.

The estimated level of crime overall fell by five per cent to 8.9million crimes against adults in the year to December 2012, while the total number of police-recorded crimes fell 8 per cent to 3.7 million in the same period.

Crime prevention minister Jeremy Browne said: “Crime continues to fall - recorded crime is down by more than 10 per cent under this Government and the independent survey shows crime is at its lowest level since records began.

“England and Wales are safer than they have been for decades. We will continue to work hard to tackle crime and its underlying causes.”

The ONS said today’s crime figures include 214 sexual offences related to the high profile Operation Yewtree probe into paedophile BBC presenter Jimmy Savile.

However, there was still a three per cent fall in overall recorded sexual offences.

All the main categories of crime fell compared wit the previous year, including a four per cent drop in homicides.

The exception was the 107,471 offences of theft from the person recorded in the year to December 2012, up from 99,396 in the previous year.

The majority of these thefts are made up of stealth thefts in which the victim was unaware their possessions were being stolen.

The rise occurred almost entirely in London, the ONS said, with the volume of theft from the person offences in the rest of England and Wales remaining fairly flat since 2008/09.

Deputy chief constable Jeff Farrar, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: “Disappointingly, police recorded data shows that theft from the person has increased by eight per cent in the last year.

"The major driver for the increase is the rising number of mobile phone thefts.

“We would urge the public to stay alert and be aware of what is going on around you. Take particular care of mobile phones and personal items when in public places where thieves may seek to take advantage.”

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4902396/thefts-up-8-per-cent-as-bike-gangs-target-smartphones.html#ixzz2RUtFrKLS