Mobiles marked to deter thieves

Children under 15 are the most likely victims

North Wales Police has stepped up its campaign to prevent thefts of mobile phones.

A new scheme has begun in the Colwyn Bay area to mark phones with an ultra violet (uv) pen to prevent and deter would-be thieves.

Thefts of mobile phones in England and Wales have surged and the Home Office has estimated that more than 700,000 were snatched last year.

Phone safety tips

Avoid using your phone in the street

Keep your phone out of sight

Use PIN codes to lock your phone

Turn off the ringer

Do not walk and text

Police Constable Chris Hovey of North Wales Police said: "Fortunately we do not suffer huge problems with thefts of mobile phones, as they do in places like London, but we do have thefts from schools, shops, cars and homes."

As part of the scheme, phones will be marked both internally and externally.

A sticker will also draw attention to the marking.

According to a Home Office study, schoolchildren - often targeted by other youths - are at least five times more likely to be targeted by mobile phone thieves than adults, with 48% of victims aged under 18.

With a mobile phone stolen approximately every three minutes, the government says the industry could be doing more to reverse the figures.

Click here for statistics on the victims and the suspects

The total number of phone robberies is thought to have risen almost threefold in five years, but mobile phone ownership is also rising rapidly.

Phone theft statistics

Mobile phone stolen every three minutes in UK

Average age of thief is 16

Up to half of phone theft victims are under 18

Source: Home Office

Chairman of the Youth Justice Board, Lord Warner, said the figures indicated an "extremely worrying phenomenon" of large numbers of young people committing crimes on their peers.

The government wants to see initiatives from mobile phone companies and are working with them to find practical solutions.

Ministers are still considering whether to introduce legislation that will force networks to introduce the anti-theft measures, but a spokesman for the Home Office said that would be "a last resort".

Some of the robberies involve violence - on New Year's Day a 19-year-old woman was shot in the head by a mugger who was trying to steal her mobile phone.

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