Even thieves are turning noses up at Blackberrys

Brand-aware thieves are ignoring the unpopular handsets

HALF BOARD FREE DRINKS IT WOULD appear mobile phone customers are not the only ones turning their backs on Blackberry and Nokia devices.

Amid reports of falling sales for the two brands, new statistics in London also show thieves are far more likely to steal phones made by other brands, such as Samsung and Apple.

The figures are based on the replies of 39 police forces in the UK which responded to a Freedom of Information (FOI) question.

The data also show the Met Police reported a big drop in overall phone thefts between the financial years 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 – down 20.4 per cent, from 231,853 to 184,578.

That represents the fourth biggest fall among the 39 forces that responded to the FOI request.

The data also reveals what the criminals’ phone of choice is and how that has changed in recent years.

The Met says in 2011, 25 per cent of phones stolen were Blackberry devices, and 12.2 per cent were Nokias.

By last year, each accounted for just five per cent of phones stolen in the capital.

Apple’s iPhones are currently the London mobile phone thief ’s preferred option, account- ing for over half (52.6 per cent) the total swiped in 2014.

Samsung thefts in the capital have also risen, from 7.5 per cent in 2011 to 24.4 per cent in 2014.

The changes reflect the shifting popularity of phone makers but could indicate thieves feel Nokia and Blackberry phones are not worth stealing.