A majority of phone thefts occur when a thief takes the phone out of the hand of the owner in broad daylight. Gardaí and councillors have urged owners of all phones to be aware of their own personal safety and surroundings when using their mobiles in public places at any time of the day or night.

The new document will also reiterate information from previous Garda reports on how to help prevent phone theft. The simplest precautionary actions – like not using your phone when crossing the road, or avoiding leaving phones in unattended bags or cars – can be the most effective anti-theft measures.

As smartphones particularly often contain a lot of the owner’s personal information, are also several steps that can be taken in order to protect data and passwords in the event that a phone is stolen. All phones have a unique IMEI number that allows a phone to be locked by the various national networks, effectively rendering the device useless for the thief. The IMEI can be accessed by dialling *#06# on a handset or labelled underneath the battery, and it’s recommended that a note of the 15-digit number is kept somewhere other than the phone itself.

Setting a PIN and other phone security features can also prevent a thief accessing your details or SIM card – many smartphones come with the option to require input of a code even when unlocking a screen. Similarly, most smartphones now contain GPS location apps such as Apple’s ‘Find Phone’ that, when installed, can quickly locate the phone’s location in case of loss or theft.