Merseyside Police is urging mobile phone owners in Merseyside to register their phones this Christmas on the National Mobile Property Register database (NMPR) and is giving members of the public the chance to win an Apple iPad when they do. Merseyside Police is urging mobile phone owners in Merseyside to register their phones this Christmas on the National Mobile Property Register database (NMPR) and is giving members of the public the chance to win an Apple iPad when they do.
The NMPR database is an on-line property search, used by the police service to search for any identifiable item of property. Once a phone or other valuable electrical item is registered, officers are able to look up it's unique registration or IMEI number, view its registered owners details, find out if it has been reported stolen by the police anywhere in the UK, the insurance company and in the case of a mobile phone, which network it is on. Ultimately it will mean that you improve your chances of getting your phone back if its lost or stolen.
In the run up to Christmas, officers will be visiting every area across the Force to offer members of the public the opportunity to register their mobile phones via www.merseyside.police.uk to the NMPR database. Registering only takes a few minutes and officers will be able to do this on-site.
Chief Inspector Shaun Holland explains: "Nowadays mobile phones are used for more than just making phone calls, in effect people have their whole lives are on them – family pictures, important emails, schedules and contact details. We realise that if your phone is lost or stolen it can have a big impact on your lives.
"We want as many people as possible to get their phones registered on the database this Christmas. It's simple and free to do, and means that if a mobile phone is found, or if we stop someone with a mobile phone that we believe does not to belong to them, we can quickly check it on the database, and return it to the rightful owner.
"We hope that by encouraging more and more people to register their phones, the message will get back to those who are thinking about stealing a phone, that it's just not worth it."
Throughout December officers will be out and about across the force area, with the publicity pod and an inflatable mobile phone, registering items and will also be giving out crime prevention advice to members of the public.

Merseyside Police Website

This is an exellent idea and we contacted St Anne St. when this started and they have sent the details to us.

If anyone is arrested and taken into the Police Station they check the mobile phone(s) that they have with them (this is also done in searches of premises). If the IMEI number is on the list (or doesn't match the sticker in the back) then it is looked into at the time.
When an IMEI number matches one on the list they will contact the person it is registered to, obviously phones do get sold so it's quite possible that the person has it legitimately, but many phones are lost and not reported, so people can, and do, still use them if they "find" them.

If anyone wants one of these forms, or to hand one in, then we have plenty in the shop.

BigaByte
332-336 Old Chester Road
Rock Ferry
CH42 3XE

Open 10 - 6
Mon - Sat

Can I also just add that this isn't just for mobile phones, ANY item of value with a serial or unique number can be registered.

i use smart water. And have a number u ring that and they block phone or summat and it useless. Is this true?

Smart water works, it is coded and everyone that goes into a police station through the "Customer Entrance" is checked for it under an ultra violet light.

Your network provider can block the last IMEI that your sim was used in fairly quickly, and can tell if anything else has been used in it and even track the phone if it still turned on, the reason it isn't done more is because the phone companies charge the police a high fee for giving out the position or useage on any phone so for a simple loss/theft case it's not worth it to them (unless it's a high profile loss/theft case, in which event they'll be knocking on the door within half an hour).

When an IMEI is blocked it wont connect to the network properly, often you can still text or use the Internet for a while but you can't make calls, once your network has blocked it the others follow fairly quickly, the phones' only value then is as parts or to be shipped abroad (as foreign networks wont have blocked it).

~I have an app on my phone, if someone opens it it emails my pc with the exact spot they are standing in with a maximum 10 foot offset.

what if they move tho?

personaly i think its another way to keep an eye on your every move data base thats what its all about if the police were that botherd about getting your moby back for you incase it gets pinched then why the hell are they not interested when a member of the public gets a payment from the dwp 300ish pounds stolen by his neighbour caught on camera in his post office and they will not do anything about it hmm i think the whole thing stinks myself

i agree gypsy, just another way for big brother to take a peek at ur info and see what u r discussing on the network...ghq works in mysterious ways

GCHQ computers listen to your calls anyway, where your phone has been in relation to towers and tracking, that's kept for at least 12m. Text messages, yes they have them on the server for some time, calls, they're around for about 6 years I think. If they wanted to know who the phone belonged to just see where it spends most nights, not difficult, but VERY time consuming.
This is just a way to keep the crime records down, you report a phone stolen, this generates one recorded crime, they get it back, crime solved, plus all the extra "solved" crimes that come from it. Numbers game for them, but you get your phone back.

it don`t matter wether you register or not, they can still track you! i`d be fooked if they went through my sat nav, they`re the worst, speed etc
Even the ecu in cars act like black boxes now, the can tell the fuzz how quick you were going at time of impact, top speed, average speed etc
I guess what your saying is if your a criminal its worse lol

bigabyte = great shop, sorted my pc out earlier this year, done a great job.

Rather than use the suggested NMPR website, it is worth looking at Immobilise which links to both NMPR and CheckMEND (international). Totally free and shares data with UK Police Forces via NMPR.