You asked
I was wondering if there are any records of thefts of mobile phone in the months ranging from May - September 2015 and May - September 2016?
We said
Thank you for your request regarding thefts of mobile phones from the person.
We do not hold any specific records on thefts of mobile phones from the person in the periods May to September 2015 or May to September 2016. However, we do publish some information relating to the theft of mobile phones that may be of interest to you.
One of our primary sources of data for crime statistics is the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). The CSEW, formerly known as the British Crime Survey (BCS), is a face-to-face victimisation survey in which people resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a range of crimes in the 12 months prior to the interview.
The latest CSEW statistics on mobile phone theft were published in our Focus on property crime: year ending March 2016 release, which provides an overview of property crime based on analyses from the CSEW and and crimes recorded by police. Nature of Crime Table 7.3 shows the proportion of incidents of 'theft from the person' where a mobile phone was stolen. 'Theft from the person' involves offences where there is theft of property, while the property is being carried by, or on the person of, the victim. These include snatch thefts (where an element of force may be used to snatch the property away) and stealth thefts (where the victim is unaware of the offence being committed, for example, pick-pocketing).
Appendix Table 15 provides the estimated number of mobile phone owners who experienced theft of their device. However, this covers all types of theft, not just thefts from the person.
We do not hold any information from police recorded crime on the number of thefts from the person where a mobile phone was stolen. However, the Home Office published a paper 'Reducing Mobile Phone Theft and Improving Security', released in March 2016, which presents findings from the CSEW on mobile phone theft and analysis based on data provided by the Metropolitan Police. The Home Office are contactable by e-mail and may be able to provide you with more information. Their address is: CrimeandPoliceStats@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.
For future reference, you do not need to use a Freedom of Information request to ask for data. It is usually quicker to simply email us at CrimeStatistics@ons.gov.uk and we will endeavour to help. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.