London is far safer than it was. But one crime category has exploded(激增，急剧增长) in recent years: theft. Both shoplifting and “theft from the person(人身盗窃，扒窃)” (mostly phone snatching) have roughly doubled since 2020. In the year to July 2026, rates of shoplifting hit a new high. But London’s rolling 12-month total for personal theft has fallen by 27% from its peak in January 2025 (see chart).(但伦敦滚动12个月的个人盗窃总数已比2025年1月的峰值下降了27%。)
伦敦远比过去安全。但近年来有一类犯罪激增：盗窃。自2020年以来，入店行窃和“人身盗窃”（主要是抢手机）都大约翻了一番。截至2026年7月的一年中，入店行窃率创下新高。但伦敦滚动12个月的个人盗窃总数已比2025年1月的峰值下降了27%（见图表）。
The fall appears to be due to improved police tactics(战术，策略). Phone snatchers specialise in drive-by theft(飞车盗窃)—using high-powered electric bikes to silently approach, and speed away from, pedestrians on their phone. For the police, chasing such thieves has been a losing battle. Officers aim to be at emergency calls within 15 minutes. That is plenty of time for someone on a 50mph e-bike to make their escape, zipping down alleyways and through heavy traffic to outmanoeuvre chunky police vehicles.(这段时间足以让一个骑着时速50英里电动自行车的人逃脱，他们穿梭于小巷和拥挤的车流中，甩掉笨重的警车。)
这一下降似乎归功于警方战术的改进。抢手机者专门从事“飞车盗窃”——骑着大功率电动自行车悄悄靠近正在看手机的行人，然后迅速逃离。对警方来说，追捕这类小偷一直是一场必败之战。警察的目标是在15分钟内赶到紧急呼叫现场。这段时间足以让一个骑着时速50英里电动自行车的人逃脱，他们穿梭于小巷和拥挤的车流中，甩掉笨重的警车。
Tactics have had to adapt. The Metropolitan Police has been building up its own e-bike stockpile(储备，囤积) to chase down(追捕，追查) suspects. It has also stepped up efforts to confiscate, en masse(全体地，大批地), those used by criminals. And since October it has deployed(部署，调动) drones to follow thieves from a distance and pick them up once they let down their guard(放松警惕). Combined with targeted policing in the tourist-heavy areas where most phone snatching occurs (such as Westminster), these new strategies appear to be working.(再加上在游客密集、抢手机案最常发生的地区（如威斯敏斯特）进行有针对性的巡逻，这些新策略似乎正在奏效。)
战术不得不做出调整。伦敦警察厅一直在扩充自己的电动自行车储备，以追捕嫌疑人。它还加大了大规模没收罪犯所用车辆的努力。自去年10月以来，警方部署无人机从远处跟踪小偷，一旦他们放松警惕就将其抓获。再加上在游客密集、抢手机案最常发生的地区（如威斯敏斯特）进行有针对性的巡逻，这些新策略似乎正在奏效。