London police accuse Apple of ignoring stolen iPhone database as phone thefts surge past 80,000

Apple iPhone

London’s Metropolitan Police Service (Met Police) has accused Apple of failing to act on the country’s official stolen device database, a move they say is allowing thieves to trade in stolen iPhones for credit toward new devices. The accusation follows a sharp rise in phone thefts across the capital, which police have described as an “epidemic.”

According to The Telegraph, Met Police officials told Members of Parliament that Apple already has access to the National Mobile Property Register (NMPR) — a database designed to help recover stolen phones — but is not checking it for theft reports when accepting trade-ins. Instead, Apple is allegedly only verifying network status, not ownership legitimacy.

Apple’s trade-in programme offers customers up to £670 in credit for an old iPhone. The police argue that the company’s failure to cross-check the NMPR allows stolen iPhones to re-enter the market under the guise of legitimate trade-ins.

The scale of theft is alarming: over 80,000 phones were stolen in London last year, up from 64,000 in 2023, with replacement costs estimated at £50 million. The Met Police believe over 75% of these stolen devices end up overseas, particularly in China, Hong Kong, and Algeria, where many are dismantled for parts.

In response, Apple highlighted measures it has introduced to deter theft, including Stolen Device Protection, which prevents a thief from wiping and reselling an iPhone even with the passcode, and permanent account locks that tie a device to its original owner. The company also said it is exploring IMEI blocking, which would render stolen phones unusable on mobile networks.

However, Apple warned that blocking IMEI numbers could be abused through false theft claims and wouldn’t prevent stolen devices from being stripped for components. The company further defended its approach by suggesting that the Met Police aren’t doing enough to follow up on theft reports submitted by Apple.

Apple executive Gary Davis, in a statement to UK lawmakers, said: “We want to make sure the Met Police continue to do traditional policing, meaning they send us requests for stolen devices and we respond. We’re not seeing that.”

Meanwhile, UK mobile networks have accused Apple of “undermining” broader efforts to curb theft by refusing to permanently disable iPhones stolen from operator stores. According to the Met Police, roughly 80% of all smartphones reported stolen in London are iPhones, underscoring Apple’s dominant role in the crisis.