Children as young as 14 have been recruited by gangs to steal phones in London, earning hundreds of pounds in the process, police have revealed.
The teenagers are targeted with incentives advertised on social media, the city's Metropolitan Police revealed.
Police identified the child criminals during an investigation into organised criminal gangs responsible for large-scale phone theft across London.
The UK capital's reputation for security has been blighted by the number of petty crimes – in central London in particular – as street robbers snatch phones from unsuspecting people in ‘ride-by’ attacks on e-bikes, or wealthy people are targeted by so-called Rolex Rippers who grab luxury watches from their wrists in muggings, often using spotters to find victims.
According to police data, 75 per cent of phones stolen in London are smuggled abroad, with about a quarter of those ending up in Algeria. Last year, police seized a shipment of 1,000 stolen mobile phones at Heathrow Airport, which were destined for North Africa.
Figures released under Freedom of Information legislation show that between 2017 and February 27 2024, a total 587,498 phones were stolen in London excluding the City, 13,998 of which were recovered, and 573,500 were not.
Police have called for manufacturers to play a greater role in combatting crime by making it harder for criminals to access phones once they have been stolen and for courts to take a tougher stance on detaining suspects.
The have launched a year-long crackdown to combat offences and also launched a campaign to highlight the force's success in getting to grips with the issue.
On Tuesday, Met Police announced that one operation alone had led to the arrests of 32 people.
The force said: "The investigation identified children as young as 14 being paid up to hundreds of pounds to steal phones, with incentives advertised on social media platforms. During this operation, officers recovered more than 1,000 mobile phones, 200 laptops and other high-value electronics destined to be exported overseas by the gang. So far, 20 people have been charged, with further charges to follow."
The operation was part of a year-long clamp down by police, which has resulted in 10,000 fewer phones being stolen year-on-year.
The number of mobile phone theft offences in London fell from 81,365 in 2024 to 71,391 last year – a drop of about 12.3 per cent.
In the past four weeks, officers made 248 arrests related to phone theft and seized about 770 stolen phones as part of intensified activity to identify suspects. A further 122 people were arrested for other offences as part of the wider operation.
Police used live facial recognition, drones and Sur-Ron e-bikes to help catch the offenders and disrupt the stolen mobile market.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We are relentlessly cracking down on phone thieves and dismantling organised criminal networks at every level – from the pickpockets and phone snatchers operating on our streets to the handlers who profit from their crimes, right through to the international networks exporting stolen phones overseas.
“Over the past year, we’ve made hundreds of arrests and recovered tens of thousands of stolen devices. That work has meant 10,000 fewer people facing the stress, cost and disruption that comes with having their phone stolen. It is this work that is making London an even safer city.
“But policing alone cannot solve this problem," Sir Mark added. "Manufacturers and tech companies must do more to stop criminals being able to reset, reuse or resell stolen phones.
“We also need the courts to play their part by preventing repeat offenders being bailed only to go out and offend again, undermining the hard work officers are doing to keep communities safe.”
In other operations, officers used pre-emptive tactics to identify known suspects in the West End, one of the key hotspots for street crime.
They spotted one prolific thief who has been linked to nearly 20 "table-surfing" offences, in which an offender distracts the victim by asking for directions or striking up conversation before stealing items from their table or chair in a restaurant or cafe.
At the time of his arrest, he was carrying two stolen phones, while 39 others were later found at his home.
A pickpocket operating near Westminster Station, who had previously been caught with 300 stolen devices, was also arrested.
Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft, said he recognised the crime is a “major concern for Londoners” but added that police tactics were "delivering results".
"In hotspot areas such as the West End, theft is already down by 30 per cent since April last year," Mr Featherstone said. “Londoners deserve to feel safe, and we will keep fighting back against the thieves and criminal gangs fuelling this crime."
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Too many Londoners have been the victim of phone theft. Our new, intensive action is putting us on the front foot when tackling phone thieves and dismantling the gangs behind the scourge of thefts here in London.”
