Neighbourhood operation in Manchester city centre is reuniting phones with rightful owners
Operation Reunite, a Manchester city centre initiative, has been successful in reuniting stolen or lost mobile phones with their owners. The operation encourages residents to register their phones on Immobilise to speed up the process. Inspector Kam Hare highlights increased patrols and collaboration with local businesses to prevent theft and ensure public safety during the festive season.
City centre revellers are being urged to register their mobiles on the national Immobilise database after police revealed hundreds of lost handsets recovered during Operation Reunite cannot be returned because owners cannot be traced.
The two-year-old initiative has already paired scores of phones with their rightful owners, but officers say the process speeds up dramatically when devices are logged on the free property site, allowing instant identification from a unique IMEI number.
Inspector Kam Hare of Greater Manchester Police’s city centre neighbourhood team said dedicated night-time patrols have been stepped up around pubs, clubs and bars as festive crowds swell, while staff in venues have received training to act as a first line of defence against opportunistic thieves.
“Mobile phones can be lost within premises and we have been working hard with our partners, including bars and restaurants, to deliver training sessions to the staff who work in these venues,” Hare explained. “We endeavour to create a system where lost mobile phones could be collected by staff at the venues and are then brought to the local police station for officers to look at identifying the phone number and reunite them with their owners before they are reported as stolen.”
Anyone who discovers their handset missing is advised to obtain its 15-digit IMEI by dialling *#06# from another phone, report the theft via 101 or online, and never risk personal safety by confronting suspected thieves.
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