By Jon Bernstein, 3 May 2002 09:51
NEWS Emergency legislation to be published later today will give judges the power to jail mobile phone thieves for up to five years. The proposed law, entitled the Mobile Phone (Reprogramming) Bill, is part of the Labour Government's pledge to cut down on street crime. Over a million handsets were stolen last year, according to Continental Research. The same research found that the epidemic is worst in London and most likely to affect the under 25s. In both categories, mobile thieves hit one out of nine people. A thriving black market for mobile phones has emerged as thieves have worked out how to reprogramme stolen sim cards giving the phone an entirely new number. The going rate for a stolen sim is estimated to be anywhere between £5 and £60 The UK's four mobile phone operators agreed earlier this year to crack down on handset theft by promising to bar phone numbers reported stolen. However, because thieves are thought to be able to reprogramme the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number assigned to each phone, the power of the operators to act is severely limited.
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1. anonymous
I think the phone barring thing is brilliant! My phone was robbed last October so I got it blocked then just last wkend my new phone got robbed again!! i just wish every one knows about the barring thing 'cos then they won't steal them 'cos they wont be able to use/sell the phone because its blocked! I think they should have a system to track down the phone though 'cos then you have a chance to get it back!