Police data reveals neighbourhood ‘blackspots’ where 100% of crimes go unsolved and phone snatchers thrive

The Met has been criticised by the police watchdog for failing to catch and deter criminals following a Channel 4 Dispatches investigation into unsolved neighbourhood crime.

Research found 167 areas across England and Wales where the police had not identified a single suspect for neighbourhood crimes between 2021 and 2023. All but one of them was in the Met force area.

In one small area around Oxford Circus and Regent Street, data analysis by Crest Advisory – commissioned by Dispatches – revealed that over the last three years there were more than 10,000 thefts from people with more than 99 per cent of them going unsolved.

The investigation revealed the opportunity this offer to criminals.

“I don’t care. I ain’t been nicked for it, yeah? And I ain’t going to get nicked. That’s how I look at it,” a phone snatcher told Dispatches.

The criminal said that he believed the phones he sold were sent abroad. It comes amid stories online that describe stolen phones being tracked to China.

One Londoner, Imran Kanji, described his experience to the programme. 

He said:“The police said that they weren’t able to progress because they didn’t have any leads, there were no suspects and there was no CCTV that they could look at. So they closed the case and about two weeks later, my phone pings again and it’s in China.”

The iPhone still had its tracking enabled and showed up in Shenzhen, in an area where electronic goods are traded.

Mr Kanji said: “It definitely made me feel it was part of a bigger operation.”

Two middle men inside an international criminal network said their businesses profit from breaking the phones down for parts or unlocking them for resale.

An insider from the network said they buy and resell about 100 stolen phones a month.

He said: “Cheap phones each, I can make £100 to £150. If a good phone like iPhone 15 pro max, I can earn £250. Maybe £12,000 to £15,000 per month”

Andy Cooke, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary said: “The Met, over the last couple of years, have seen unprecedented demand.

“But, too often the police aren’t getting the basics right. Seeing so many neighbourhoods that have got zero per cent detection rates for some of these crimes, it’s not acceptable. 

“If the chances of being caught are so low, that is not a deterrent.”

A Met spokesman said: “We understand the impact that robbery can have on victims.

“Officers are targeting resources to hot spot areas, with increased patrols and plain clothes officers which deter criminals and make officers more visibly available. 

“We encourage people to report whenever they have been a victim of robbery or theft.”

Britain’s Unsolved Crimewave aired on Tuesday at 10pm on Channel 4.

(Picture: Simon Lesley/Flickr)