Met police drive down theft and robbery by 84% in Battersea and Nine Elms

Following a targeted operation in south west London, Met officers have focussed resources on hotspots to tackle theft and robbery, resulting in an 84 per cent decrease over three months.

As part of the Home Office’s Safer Summer Streets campaign, on Wednesday, 27 August, Met officers arrested six members of an organised phone snatching gang between the ages of 17 and 19 years old, as part of an intelligence-led operation in response to concerns raised by the local community around the issue.

Officers carried out warrants at seven addresses targeting individuals believed to be involved in dozens of phone thefts and robberies in the area for over a year, seizing several suspected stolen handsets, a motorbike, a Rambo knife and drugs.

The operation, known as ‘Roar’, has involved more than 90 officers and local partners like such local council anti-social behaviour officers since its introduction in May 2025 and comes as the Met intensifies its street operations targeting phone thieves and deploys more officers on high-speed e-bikes to catch them.

Across the operation to date, through a combination of pre-planned warrants, patrols and covert police tactics, officers have made a total of 20 arrests, including seven members of another organised group of phone snatchers operating in the Brixton, Lambeth, Stockwell and Wandsworth areas.

This has resulted in crime dropping in each area by:

*Robbery by ward: 

• Nine Elms – 72% reduction 

• Battersea Park – 46% reduction 

• Shaftesbury and Queens Town – 45% reduction  

Snatch thefts by ward: 

• Nine Elms – 36% reduction 

• Battersea Park – 31% reduction 

• Shaftesbury and Queens Town – 32% reduction 

Inspector Rich Nuttall, from the Met Police who leads neighbourhood policing in Battersea, said: 

“We are proactively targeting crime that matters most to the people of Battersea and Nine Elms. This latest wave of activity is part of our relentless and continued crackdown on phone snatchers in the area – going after the perpetrators who continually target our local communities on an almost daily basis.

“Thanks to the hard work of officers, we’ve been able to arrest six more individuals linked to numerous phone theft offences, with an extensive investigation now underway to bring charges and convictions against them. 

“Operations such as this play a crucial role in helping us remove dangerous criminals from our streets whose offending brings misery and fear to those we serve, and I hope this latest action provides further reassurance that we are coming down hard on phone thieves.” 

Town centres and hotspot areas across London continue to see an enhanced police presence as part of the Home Office’s Safer Summer Streets campaign running until the end of September, with a focus on reducing criminality and anti-social behaviour.   

This intensified action is part of ongoing work by the Met and Mayor of London to boost local neighbourhood teams, enhance partnership working and put high-visibility policing at the heart of fighting crime and rebuilding trust.   

Between 30 June and 10 August, there were 1,376 arrests in the 20 hotspot areas across London – up by a third compared to the same period last year. The number of cases solved is up 176 per cent.   

Details of those arrested: 

• A 19-year-old man from Hammersmith and Fulham 

• A 19-year-old man from Brixton 

• A 19-year-old man from Nine Elms 

• An 18-year-old and 17-year-old from Stockwell. 

All five have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit theft and on suspicion of fraud. 

A 19-year-old man from Wandsworth also arrested as part of this investigation was detained for possession of a bladed article and possession of cannabis alongside the offences above.

All six men have been bailed until Tuesday, 25 November. Court dates are yet to be confirmed.