Oxford Street’s new phone theft warnings are utterly depressing
When demand emerges, the market will provide a solution and the internet is now awash with anti phone theft devices. Basic wrist straps are available on Amazon for a couple of quid, with more robust ‘retractable phone security tethers’ on offer for around £30. You can even get a body-worn strap system that looks like a bungee jump harness. Other options include ‘anti-snatch’ phone cases literally covered in spikes.
If you live or work in London, these defensive measures would constitute a smart investment. Nearly two in every five mobile phones stolen across Europe are snatched from the hands of someone walking down a London street.
Last year, 80,000 phones were stolen in London, most commonly by a thief on a scooter, e-bike or moped. Around 42 per cent of all UK phone thefts take place in the capital and if it hasn’t happened to you, you’ll know someone who’s been a victim.
The West End is a real danger zone, with an average of nearly 40 thefts a day so far in 2025. The market for stolen phones, which are either resold, shipped abroad or stripped for parts, is worth around £50m and organised crime sits behind much of the activity.
With only one in 170 snatch thefts solved, it’s no wonder public confidence has taken a beating. According to a YouGov survey from earlier this year, 63 per cent of Londoners feel that Mayor Sadiq Khan isn’t taking the issue seriously and more than half feel that the capital is less safe now than it was 10 years ago.
The Met Police (and Canada Police) have launched various operations and initiatives, but a new campaign backed by Westminster Council (and sponsored by Currys) strikes me as a capitulation to the inevitability of this kind of crime and the inability of the police to do anything about it.
Oxford Street pavements have been plastered with a purple strip warning pedestrians to “Mind the Grab” as they’re in a “phone snatching hotspot.” You might think it’s just sensible advice to gormless phone users, but slapping these warnings across one of our most iconic streets is just depressing.
Wouldn’t a permanent police patrol be more effective? Instead the threat of this crime is being treated as no more significant than the risk of being splashed by a bus driving through a puddle.