Watering down police search warrants won’t help cut phone theft

Your phone has been stolen. In the bustle of the crowd there’s no way of telling who took it and how far away it is by now. Luckily, you’re with a friend and can use any number of tracking apps to quickly pinpoint the exact location of the stolen phone. You bound over to the nearest policeman to report the crime and location, only to be met with a shrug and perhaps a crime reference number.  

For those of you who spend too much time on X, the above story may sound familiar. It tends to do the rounds every couple of months, usually related to a stolen phone, laptop, or bike, and accompanied by a photo of GPS coordinates marking the stolen goods and a rant about ineffectual policing. Some of you may have even experienced this first hand – a consequence of large swathes of petty crime being effectively decriminalised across the capital and other cities.

Has a solution been found? The government – often unfairly accused of having a limited legislative agenda – is lumbering forward with its Criminal Justice Bill, due back in parliament today.