Why is the government appealing to phone companies to help fight mobile phone crime

A. The UK home secretary Jack Straw has called on mobile phones companies, including Vodafone, BT Cellnet, One2One and Orange, to collaborate with the government to help find ways to make mobile phones less susceptible to street crime. Mr Straw has instructed telecoms' industry leaders to attend a meeting, along with representatives from the police, to discuss ways to drive down rising levels of mobile phone theft.

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Q. Is mobile phone theft on the increase

A. The government move comes as new statistics are published by the Federation of Communications Services, showing that over 15,000 mobile phones are stolen on UK streets every month, costing the industry more than �100 million every year. Crime figures for the years 1999 to 2000 show that mobile phones made up for 12% of stolen goods in the UK. Although money still remains the most regularly targeted item by robbers, the figure for mobiles has risen by 3% in the space of only a year. Mobile theft has also been blamed for the increase in street crime, particularly in major UK cities.

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Q. What kind of measures is the government urging mobile phone companies to take

A. Mobile phone theft is a lot easier to tackle than most other crime. There are many simple measures that phone companies and phone owners can take to help curb the increase in mobile phone theft. For years, technology companies have allowed network operators to detect stolen phones and remotely deactivate them so the thief can no longer use the handset. However, two of the UK's largest phone networks, Vodafone and BT Cellnet, do not operate this particular system. The government's aim is to encourage these companies to introduce better security and tracing measures to deter and detect thieves.

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Q. What can owners do to protect their mobile phones against crime

A. There are several measures that owners can take to ensure their mobile phones are less susceptible to petty crime:

• Keep your handset out of sight while in public. Avoid having extended or lively telephone conversations on the street unless entirely necessary.
• Ensure that the volume of your mobile phones ring tune is at reasonable level. Don't have it too loud or it'll draw unnecessary attention when it rings.
• Always read the small print on your mobile phone insurance contract. In many cases, insurance companies will not pay out if the victim is under the age of 18.
• Ensure that you have installed a PIN (personal identification number) security code on your phone.
• Always make a note of your phones' individual security number, which will help the authorities to identify your phone if it gets lost or stolen.

Q. Who are the main perpetrators of mobile phone theft

A. The majority of phone thefts involve urban teenagers and school children. They have been found to be both the main perpetrators and the main victims of the crime. Research carried out by the Metropolitan police has found that mobile phones are more likely to be stolen from school children by other teenagers between the times of 3.45pm and 5.15pm, when children are on their way home from school.

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Q. Which type of phone is most frequently stolen

A. Prepaid mobile phones, because they are not registered to individual users, are most susceptible to theft, as there is no easy way to trace the phone if it is stolen. Also, the new, expensive and smaller phones are more attractive to robbers, and many thieves can replace the memory chip of the handset or the SIM (subscriber identity module) card, giving it a new identity and phone number in a matter of seconds.

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By Christina Okoli