Sir Mark Rowley

Picture: Katie Chan

Smartphones are to be fitted with a “kill switch” that make them useless if stolen.

Apple has agreed to make a global change to its devices.

The switch stops the phone being used or sold if stolen.

More than 200 smartphones are stolen daily in London.

The city is known as the world capital of phone theft.

The black-market sale of phones is worth more than £50 million a year.

Apple has agreed with the Metropolitan Police to add the switch to its current safety features.

It’s hoped other phone manufacturers will follow suit.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is to write to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, asking for legislation to force manufacturers to comply.

Sir Mark said:  “I gave an ultimatum to tech firms – take urgent steps to prevent stolen phones from being resold and reused, or we will call on the Government to step in and legislate.

“For the first time, we are routinely sharing intelligence on stolen devices, building a joint picture of how these phones move and whether they reappear in circulation.

“That partnership is already making a difference.

“If stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their value collapses, and so does the incentive to steal them.

“We are driving up the risk for offenders while cutting off the reward.”

The Met has launched a phone theft drive, making hundreds of arrests and recovering thousands of devices.

Sir Mark said: “Policing is playing its part.

“In the West End, where this crime was most concentrated, phone theft has fallen by 50 per cent through relentless, targeted policing.

“But we have also gone further by working directly with Apple to address the global market that has allowed this crime to thrive.

“This is an important step, but it must not stop here.

“If you are stealing phones in London, the reality is changing fast.

“The opportunities are shrinking, the risks are rising, and we are determined to dismantle this criminal model completely.”

The moves are backed by the public, with 83 per cent of people backing the permanent blocking of stolen smartphones.

Kate Adams, senior vice-president of government affairs at Apple, said:

“Keeping our users, their devices, and their data safe is at the heart of what we do.

“That includes building industry-leading security features that significantly reduce the motivation for criminals to target people in the first place.”