iPhone 'mugging fear' unfounded, say police

Fears the iPhone could lead to a rise in street thefts and violent muggings because of criminals targeting people with Apple's touchscreen phone have so far proved unfounded, according to the UK's National Mobile Phone Crime Unit (NMPCU).

UK police conducted extensive groundwork prior to the launch of the pricey device, consulting with industry and the Home Office and examining trends from across the pond to attempt to predict its impact on domestic crime.

But Inspector Chris Paice of the NMPCU told silicon.com: "Most of the iPhones stolen [in the UK] have been the result of shoplifting rather than street crime, robberies or the use of violence."

He added: "We are continuing to work closely with businesses to identify new technology that could be considered lucrative to criminals."

A wider winter crime crackdown by the NMPCU resulted in more than 50 arrests and netted hundreds of stolen mobile phones. The crackdown - dubbed Operation Prestige - began back in October, targeting eBay sellers of stolen mobiles, wanted robbery suspects and the false reporting of stolen phones.

The unit cross-references stolen phone crime reports with a national database, checking up on previously blocked phones that have been unblocked without its knowledge and may therefore have been falsely reported as stolen.

Operation Prestige took place in eight London boroughs: Brent, Camden, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets - which were selected after analysis of police intelligence, said Paice.

A total of 324 handsets were seized and 56 arrests were made. Officers from the NMPCU worked alongside police colleagues from the boroughs involved.

Lewisham yielded the biggest haul of seized phones, with 117 mobiles recovered, followed by Lambeth (67) and Tower Hamlets (58). The most arrests were made in Lambeth (15), Lewisham (11) and Croydon (11).

Paice said: "Operation Prestige was a huge success particularly as it was run over the winter with darker evenings and the clocks going back. We did not carry out an operation on this scale last year and so have little to compare it with. However we did see a marked decrease in robberies and street crimes during the period that the operation ran compared to the same period last year."

Inquiries are ongoing and the seized handsets will be returned to their owners or insurance companies once inquiries are completed.

The NMPCU runs a number of operations to crack down on mobile-related crime throughout the year. Operation Prestige was timed to coincide with an anticipated rise in robbery offences in the eight London boroughs around Halloween, Bonfire Night and in the build up to Christmas.

During the operation the NMPCU also undertook crime prevention work at local schools and universities.

Paice said the unit advises people to be aware of their surroundings and be safe and sensible about where they use their phone. "For instance we suggest that people should not get their phones out immediately after leaving an underground station and to stand with your back against a wall so that you are aware of what is happening around you when using your phone in a public place," he added.