Following the release of new data from the London Metropolitan Police showing that a mobile phone was stolen every six minutes in the city last year, some are calling for phone companies to take action to help reduce thefts.
The data showed that more than 68,000 gadgets were stolen in London in 2018 and that the most common location for the thefts was on public transport. Some have suggested that phone companies could help by developing technology that would allow their products to be remotely locked or disabled if they are stolen.
The statistics from the London Metropolitan Police also revealed that 69% of all thefts in the city in 2018 involved mobile phones.
This high percentage shows the importance of tackling mobile phone theft as a specific problem, rather than just as a subset of general theft.
Some are drawing parallels to previous efforts by car manufacturers to reduce thefts of car radios and satellite navigation systems by making them integrated into vehicle dashboards. The question is whether a similar approach could be effective for mobile phones.
