By Community Correspondent: Hannah Davies

Having just turned 18 in March I took the opportunity of my new found freedom to go out for my first clubbing experience to a nightclub in Kingston’s city centre. While there, my evening was ruined once I’d realised that my brand new mobile phone had been stolen from my bag.

Now, nearly two weeks later, I have begun to realise the extent of mobile phone theft that occurs in this nightclub, but also to young people in general.

After reporting the theft to the reception desk that evening and hearing that 5 other people had already done the same, it became clear that I was not the victim of an unusual crime and throughout the following days I discovered that three daughters of various family friends had the same happen to them and, in one case, it had happened three times, all at the same nightclub.

A report from the Home Office in 2002 entitled ‘Mobile Phone Theft’ showed that ‘children of a school age are five times more likely to become victims of mobile phone theft’, than adults and that ‘those over 18 were targeted between 10pm and 6am’. Although you could say that this evidence is a little outdated, the report also showed statistics that revealed a dramatic annual increase in the theft of mobile phones suggesting that this was likely to increase further in the following years. For example, in 2002 mobile phones were involved in 28% of all robberies compared to 8% in 1999. Even without government statistics for 2010, it clearly still remains to be a common occurrence as I can understand from other people’s experience and my own.

The offender’s choice to perform this crime in a nightclub seems a logical solution: large crowds of young people, often under the influence of alcohol, late at night (or very early in the morning) and loud music are understandably a perfect disguise and aid in their intention.

My advice would be to keep your phone as safe as possible by avoiding carrying bags, especially without a zip or, as I intend to do in the future, transfer your SIM card into an old phone when you go out to a place where there is a risk of theft. Alternatively, most nightclubs have a cloakroom in which to deposit coats and bags. Most importantly avoid having your mobile phone on display to avoid becoming a target in the first place.