Swansea phone thefts have reached a five-year low in 2022 as the number of recorded incidents drop.
According to data by Get Phone Repairs, there were a total of 71 phone thefts recorded in Swansea last year, down 69.9% since 2018. In fact, the number of phone thefts has dropped year-on-year since its five-year high in 2018.
The latest 2022 data shows that £25,205 worth of phones were stolen in Swansea – that’s an average of 1 phone stolen every five days.
Following a slump in 2020, the number of phone thefts has since dropped even further, with figures now sitting at a five-year low.
What about other Welsh cities?
Cardiff was the worst-hit Welsh city with 234 reported phone thefts, accounting for 34.4% of the Welsh total. We ranked the cities proportionally, using the number of thefts per thousand people to see which ones were hit worse.
This time, St Davids came out on top with 1.88 thefts per thousand people, but since the city is so small with just 1,600 residents, we felt it was unfair to include it in our rankings.
As for the lowest phone theft rates, Bangor and St Asaph both saw 0 phone thefts in 2022, with Bangor clinching the title of Safest UK City due to its higher population.
| City | Thefts | Value | Rate | |
| 1 | Cardiff | 234 | £83,070 | 0.49 |
| 2 | Newport | 29 | £10,295 | 0.18 |
| 3 | Swansea | 71 | £25,205 | 0.15 |
| 4 | Wrexham | 1 | £355 | 0.02 |
| 5 | Bangor | 0 | £0 | – |
| 6 | St Asaph | 0 | £0 | – |
| – | St Davids | 3 | £1,065 | 1.88 |
Get Phone Repairs founder Ryan Leston said: “We’re seeing a huge rise in mobile phone theft across the UK. Thousands of mobile phones are stolen in cities across the country, most commonly through pickpocketing and table surfing.
“Police forces all over the country are backing local initiatives to tackle this rising crime, but the best way to avoid being part of our stats is to take preventative measures. Avoid using your mobile in crowded areas and you’ll stand a much better chance of hanging onto it.
“Thieves are far more likely to target people they know have high-end devices. So, keep your smartphone out of sight.”
