Phone Crime Clampdown for the UK
The UK's police have set up a new unit dedicated to tackling mobile phone crime across the country. The National Mobile Phone Crime Unit, based in London, is made up of representatives from police forces across the country, other law enforcement agencies and members of the mobile phone industry. Half of all street crime involves the theft of a mobile phone, and almost one third of these crimes involves the theft of just a phone. The aim of the NMPCU is to combat all levels of crime involving phones, from those that steal, handle and reprogram phones to those that export mobiles abroad.
Through partnership, it is intended that members of the NMPCU will be able to gather, develop and spread relevant intelligence about those people and groups who are committing these crimes and put in place operational activity to stop them.
Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin, the ACPO lead for mobile phone theft, said: "We have said right from the start of our clamp down on mobile phone theft that it is vital to see all the organisations involved in this working together side by side. I am extremely pleased to have been part of setting up this new Unit and look forward to seeing the results further down the line. The industry has played a full part in this process and I thank them for their continued support.
"It is vital to bring about a long term reduction in the levels of mobile phone thefts and street crime. Through this joint intelligence picture I am confident that we can go a long in removing the infrastructures that support these crimes."
A new phase of the industry Immobilise campaign will start in the New Year (2004). This campaign publicises the database of stolen and lost mobile phones and established by network operators that means that, when a customer reports their phone as stolen or lost, the phone is blocked from use across all UK networks and is rendered useless to thieves.
The campaign has simple message - Stolen mobiles don't work anymore - and promotes a single number: 08701 123 123, to report lost or stolen mobiles"
Posted to the site on 18th December 2003
