Revealed: the UK hotspots for technology theft

In 2017, 95% of UK households owned a mobile phone meaning that alongside our laptops, tablets and smartphones, our technical devices are never far from reach. [1] But how often do we stop to think about how safe our beloved devices are?

New research by mobile phone insurers, Insurance2go, reveals the UK’s hotspots for tech theft, according to a series of Freedom of Information requests to police constabularies across the country.

The top ten police constabularies that recorded the highest number of reported tech thefts* between 2015 and 2017 are** shown in this infographic:
StolenTech
In total, between 2015 and 2017, a staggering 247,869 mobile phones, tablets and laptops were reported stolen across the UK, with more than two thirds of that figure consisting solely of mobile phones (68%). However, it’s not all doom and gloom - the total amount of stolen tech has decreased by 11% from 88,163 in 2015 to 78,459 in 2017.

The police constabulary that recorded the largest increase in reported stolen tech was the City of London Police with an increase of 9% from 1,060 stolen items in 2015 to 1,153 in 2017. On the other hand, in the South West, Avon and Somerset Constabulary reported a staggering 47% decrease of thefts, from 5,623 stolen items to 2,991 in the same period.

Greater Manchester Police reported the most stolen goods out of all of the constabularies, with 42,697 stolen mobile phones and the most stolen laptops (13,442) and tablets (7,748) over the two year time period.

A Met Police Constable advises: “When it comes to your phone, be aware of pickpockets and keep everything in the main pockets of bags. If you’re keeping it on your body, use zipped or buttoned pockets and be aware of your surroundings.

“The other thing to consider is moped robbers. Be careful when walking around with your phone in your hand, wearing headphones and particularly stopping to cross the road as that’s when you’re most vulnerable. Best to be alert, and treat all mopeds as suspicious.”

Commenting on the research, Gary Beeston, Sales & Marketing Manager at Insurance2go said: “We spend a lot of money on our mobile phones, tablets and laptops, and usually take them with us wherever we travel. However, it’s easy to forget that our favourite devices can also attract the unwanted attention of others.

“Tech theft does appear to have decreased over the past three years however it always pays to be overly cautious when it comes to taking care of your personal possessions. Hopefully our tips will help you to be more aware of the possible threats to your devices whilst you’re out and about, and make sure your belongings stay in your possession!”

To delve further into the research and for tips on how to keep your personal tech safe when travelling from A to B, visit:

https://www.insurance2go.co.uk/media-centre/2018/5/24/top-tips-to-keep-your-tech-safe/

*The phrase “stolen tech” refers to reported thefts of mobile phones, tablets and laptops as an entity.
**Data sets from 23 police constabularies gathered using Freedom of Information requests carried out in March 2018 for the date period 2015 to 2017. (35 out of 47 police constabularies responded with data, however only 23 provided data sets that were directly comparable and used in the analysis.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/289167/mobile-phone-penetration-in-the-uk/