The phone that gets stolen isn't always the most valuable thing that gets taken. Things of sentimental value, like photographs or personal information also have a value, and that may be taken into account when sentencing criminals who take phones

The Guardian reports that new sentencing council rules suggest that no matter what the hardware is worth, the sentence should reflect the effect of the crime on the victim. Of course, users should always backup their data in case of exactly this, but the impact is still large, and potentially financially devastating if you have account information on your handset.

It's good to see the law evolving to take technology into account. While this might be a small step, it might help put criminals off taking things that are, let's be honest, full of stuff that often can't be replaced.

Source: The Guardian