Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

The number of reported mobile phone theft in Sheffield has rocketed by 15 per cent over the last year, making the city one of the worst locations in the country for that type of crime.

Figures obtained from South Yorkshire Police show that a total of 1,416 phone thefts were recorded in Sheffield in 2022, with a total value of £502,680.

According to getphonerepairs.com, this means the equivalent of one in 393 people in Sheffield had their phone stolen last year.

Ryan Leston, Founder of Get Phone Repairs said: “We’re seeing a huge rise in mobile phone theft across the UK. Thousands of mobile phones are stolen in cities across the country, most commonly through pickpocketing and table surfing. Police forces all over the country are backing local initiatives to tackle this rising crime, but the best way to avoid being part of our stats is to take preventative measures.

Figures obtained from South Yorkshire Police show that a total of 1,416 Sheffield phone thefts were recorded in 2022, with a total value of £502,680.

"Avoid using your mobile in crowded areas and you’ll stand a much better chance of hanging onto it. Thieves are far more likely to target people they know have high-end devices. So, keep your smartphone out of sight.”

The 2022 figures compare with a total of 1,235 recorded thefts in the city in 2021, representing an increase of 15 per cent, however the city – and the rest of the country – were in lockdown for some of the year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The impact of the pandemic is seemingly also reflected with the number of recorded mobile phone thefts in 2020, when 945 were recorded.

This is in stark contrast to 2019, when 1,796 mobile phone thefts were recorded.

When compared with 2019, there was a decrease of 21 per cent in the number of mobile phone thefts recorded by South Yorkshire Police.

With a value of £47million, there was also a rise in the number of mobile phones recorded as stolen in 2022, with 133,464.

This compared with 97,635 in 2021, equating to a rise of 37 per cent.

Similar to Sheffield, national figures hit a low in 2020.

Compared with the 149,642 mobile phone thefts recorded in the UK in 2019, there was a decrease of 16,178 or 11 per cent in 2022.

Following the release of the figures, Sheffield has been ranked as the 10th worst location in England and Wales for mobile phone thefts, based on the rate per 1,000 people.

Unsurprisingly, the nation’s capital, London, was found to have the highest number of mobile phone thefts per 1,000 people, followed by Manchester, South Yorkshire city, Doncaster. Liverpool was found to have the fourth-highest mobile phone theft per population, followed by: Newcastle; Nottingham; Preston; Salford and Birmingham.

Mobile phone thefts rocket by 15 per cent in Sheffield with value of stolen handsets totalling over £500k

"Avoid using your mobile in crowded areas and you’ll stand a much better chance of hanging onto it. Thieves are far more likely to target people they know have high-end devices. So, keep your smartphone out of sight.”