Mobile phone crime in London has fallen significantly since the formation of the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit (NMPCU) in 2003, according to figures released Tuesday.

Run by the Met (London Metropolitan Police Force), the unit tackles mobile phone criminality, focusing on the handlers, re-programmers and exporters of stolen mobile phones, as well as seeking to reduce the opportunity for theft of mobile phones and address the false reporting of mobile phone crime.

During the current financial year there have been 52,708 offences within the Met area – a 5 per cent reduction on the same period last year and a 17.5 per cent reduction on 2003.

Detective Superintendent Steve Bending, the head of the NMPCU, said “our partnership approach with the Home Office and mobile phone industry has enabled us to ensure long-term reductions against a background of increased mobile phone ownership in the UK”.