"Apple has told us there is no silver bullet to stop phone theft, but there are clearly technological solutions that can help deter it. The committee has yet to hear any convincing reasons why this hasn't been implemented. Tech companies argue that phone theft is primarily for parts, but there's little evidence to support this. If this was the case, these technical measures wouldn't be needed - but they clearly are."
"As well as trying to catch the criminals stealing phones, the government should focus on cutting demand, according to the House of Commons' Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, a cross-party group of MPs that looks closely at related spending, policies and administration. The chair of the committee argues it is within the power of smartphone makers to implement pre-existing technologies that would make stolen devices useless for resale, cutting demand in the international criminal market."
The Home Secretary can use statutory powers to push the tech industry to deploy stronger technical measures to deter phone theft. Metropolitan Police recorded 117,211 phones stolen in 2024, a 25% increase on 2019, and only 1% of phone thefts in London result in a charge or conviction. Government action should prioritise cutting demand by reducing the resale value of stolen devices. Pre-existing smartphone technologies can render stolen devices useless for resale, thereby reducing demand in international criminal markets. Coordinated action between government, police and tech firms is needed to secure implementation of these measures.
Read at Theregister
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