Harlow 'worst place in Essex for mobile phone thefts'

Mobile phone insurance experts Loveit Coverit have uncovered the Essex areas in which residents are most likely to have their phones stolen.

After analysing Essex Police data spanning from January 2023 to 2024, they have determined Harlow is the place most susceptible to phone theft.

The area has a theft rate of nine per 10,000 residents after 84 phone thefts were recorded.

Elsewhere on the list, Epping Forest has come in as one of the places where you are least likely to get your phone stolen, coming in as the 6th safest.

The area recorded 50 out of 71 thefts as phone thefts in 2023 and 2024, making the phone theft rate per 10,000 residents 3.7.

Listed - The Essex places where it is least likely to get your phone stolen (Image: Loveit Coverit)

At the top of the list for the safety of mobile devices, meanwhile, was Maldon.

The phone theft rate per 10,000 residents is 0.91 and there were only eight reported thefts from individuals between January 2023 and 2024. 

Listed - The Essex places where it is most likely to get your phone stolen (Image: Loveit Coverit)

Loveit Coverit estimates a staggering 84 instances of phone theft within this area alone, equating to approximately 9 thefts per 10,000 residents.

Second on the list of most unsafe Essex areas for mobile devices is Basildon.

The town's police data shows 81 out of 115 thefts were of stolen phones, causing the town to have a 6.99 theft rate per 10,000 residents.

To put these figures in perspective, the average phone theft rate for the whole of Essex is 4.2 per 10,000 residents.