POLICE have blamed a sharp rise in the number of street robberies on the increasing popularity of iPods, MP3 players and the new generation of internet-connected mobile phones.

Figures to be released by the Home Office later this month are expected to reveal that muggings rose by almost 40% in some parts of the country last year.

In London the number of robberies increased for the first time in three years, reversing a steep downward trend.

Robberies went up by an overall 5%, according to figures obtained last week from 22 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. If these statistics are reflected nationally, it will be the first time that robbery has risen since 2002.

In Merseyside robberies went up from 539 between April and June last year to 731 in the same period this year — an increase of 36%.

Chief Superintendent Paul Forrester of Merseyside police said that many of the victims were students and teenagers.

“Some children carry phones and iPods [worth] over £600 and they are making themselves walking targets,” he said.

Robbery also increased by 11% in South Yorkshire and 6% in Hertfordshire.

In London police recorded almost 1,500 more robberies over the period April to June — a 15% rise. Separate figures from the Metropolitan police show that muggings and snatch thefts of iPods have increased more than fivefold since last November. Ten incidents of this kind were reported in that month, followed by 35 in April and 52 in May.

The number of iPods reported stolen from cars and homes also increased from 178 in November 2004 to 395 in May this year.

Norwich Union, the insurance company, replaced 36 lost or stolen iPods between January and September last year. The figure rocketed to 1,721 in the same period this year.

Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner, warned earlier this year that the iPods’ distinctive white headphone leads allowed owners to be easily targeted by criminals.

“In street robbery, our concern has been around the smaller portable pieces of kit — the new generation of mobile phones and iPods,” he said. “ It is very obvious when someone is wearing an iPod. That is what is fuelling this.”

In June, Cal Duncan, 13, the son of Lindsay Duncan, the actress, was mugged for his iPod by a gang of teenagers as he walked in central London.

Last Wednesday, Amy Stewart, 27, a public relations executive from Whitechapel, east London, was robbed at knifepoint for her camera phone. “I will be very careful about using my phone again,” she said.

Additional reporting: Leonora Oldfield

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