Liberal Democrats Demand Action as Southwark Phone Theft Reaches Record High

Southwark Liberal Democrats have written to Sir Sadiq Khan demanding action, as new data shows that in March 2025, 502 phone thefts were recorded in Southwark – the highest since records began in April 2021, where just 150 were recorded. 

The phone theft epidemic is being driven mainly by incidents in the wards of Borough and Bankside and London Bridge and West Bermondsey – with more thefts happening in Borough and Bankside in March this year alone than across the whole of Southwark in January 2022.  

The same data, provided by the Met, shows that Southwark has the third highest rate of phone theft in London.

This is despite the Met announcing a “crackdown” in February, but the latest data shows phone theft only going up in both February and March in Southwark.

This also comes after polling showed that two thirds of Londoners do not believe that Sadiq Khan is taking the issue of phone snatching seriously.

In their letter, the Liberal Democrats urge more visible policing and to ramp up action in known hotspots, but also to look at action councils can take to invest in youth services to prevent young people entering criminal activity in the first place. 

Liberal Democrats had previously hit out at the Labour party’s record on crime and anti-social behaviour with the Met (which Sir Sadiq is responsible for) abandoning its current Canada Water base, and the Southwark Labour group rejecting Liberal Democrat proposals to double the number of community safety officers. 

Commenting, Southwark Liberal Democrat Community Safety Spokesperson Cllr Jane Salmon said:

“The phone theft epidemic is growing out of all proportion – it's trebled over the last few years, and it’s increasingly coming up on the doorstep as a source of frustration on the doorstep. It’s clear that in Southwark and at the City Hall that our Labour politicians are letting us down. 

We want to see more visible policing along with targeted action in hotspots, but also deal with the source – we can stop our young people resorting to criminality in the first place by investing in youth clubs and employment schemes. This needs joined up, strategic thinking across the council and the Met, and it’s clear only the Liberal Democrats are taking this seriously.”