Warning as police brace for spike in phone-snatching following iPhone 17 release

Officers with the British Transport Police (BTP) have arrested more than a dozen people in a week linked to previous crimes to get ahead of the curve.

Superintendent John Loveless, who leads the force’s national action to target robberies, told us: “We know as we approach this season, autumn and winter, we see phone thefts going up.

“Just a fortnight ago, Apple released the iPhone 17 which is a really sought after device - I’m sure a lot of people will be happy to have that handset - but we know people will seek, unfortunately, to target those high value phones.

“Every year we see the weather and the release of new devices having an impact on the number of these crimes that happen, and we’re determined to go after those who are out to steal from people and particularly those who are threatening to use force to do so.”

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Last week, officers in London detained 13 outstanding suspects who have been linked to thefts on the rail network in recent months.

Among them was an 18-year-old man, living in Brixton, South London, who was accused of using a phone which had been taken from a victim at West Norwood Station last year.

Speaking to LBC in the back of a police van, as a team from the BTP’s Operational Support Unit headed to the address, Sergeant Douglas - one of the team leaders - said: “This is about going after high harm offenders who we know about.

“This man is due to be arrested for handling stolen goods so we’re going to wake him up and bring him in for questioning.”

The teenager told police he was shocked as he was asked to get dressed and led out of the door and into the back of a van, with curious neighbours looking on.

Officers on the rail network say they’re seeing phone snatchers - both opportunistic and as part of criminal networks - as young as 14.

Superintendent John Loveless said: “There are lots of young people travelling every day to schools and colleges and it’s often very young people, under the age of 18, who are offenders but who are also being targeted.

“For robbery, the most common age bracket for offenders is broadly from around 14 up to 18 years old and with that, there are also challenges around dealing with young people and what their vulnerabilities are, and what’s leading them to criminality.

“We need to ask what more we can do beyond policing in terms of diversionary work to try and break that cycle of offending and prevent it escalating as they get older.”

The British Transport Police says thefts on London’s Tube network so far this year are almost 19% lower than they were in 2024.

The force also claims passengers ‘need to be really unfortunate’ to become a victim of robbery on a train or in a station, with figures suggesting just one crime is committed for every 2 million passenger journeys.

But government ministers have urged police forces to step up their action in tackling the crime, with new powers being given to officers to enter homes and seize devices where GPS trackers show their location.

Mobile phone companies have also been hauled into the Home Office to look at how their technology can be used to make the devices less attractive for onward sale.

Many have since introduced new anti-theft measures which include locking the phone’s screen when it’s carried away at speed and requiring extra identity checks in unfamiliar locations.