Sure, although if the police had the power to give chase these incidents would decrease hugely. It's not worth their while to nick a phone (which they'll get about £50 for) if there's a fair chance of getting caught. The very reason they do it is because they know the police are hamstrung
Human beings without training don't respond like that. They are first shocked and disbelieving, thinking this can't be real or must be a joke. Their eyes will be drawn to the person rather than a number plate and, by the time the disbelief has worn off, the perpetrator has long since fúcked off.
Yep, they come from Tottenham/Edmongton to middle class north London to prey on people who aren't used to interacting with black people and freeze in their presence.
The police told us they'd had 17 reports of stolen phones in 45 minutes around north London the other day.
There's a pwoper mental one who roams the streets of East Finchley. He prowls around wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie and looks scary as fúck, especially when he walks into the road and approaches your car when you're sitting in traffic. But then he raises his head and invariably has a massive gormless grin on his face. The first couple of times he does it you shít yourself, but then you realise he's just a harmless mentaller and you almost start to look forward to seeing him around.