That’s what apple has largely done and that’s what a lot of small repair stores complain about. Requiring an AppleID to activate a phone, tying components to the crypto processor on device, etc. all is part of this - and it just happens to make repairs harder, used parts worthless, … There’s a pretty big tradeoff here.
Most components in an iPhone today are programmed to the device and will either warn you with an on screen prompt, or refuse to work at all if you move them to another iPhone. It hasn't seemed to stop theft tho, I suspect a large number of people are falling for the iCloud phishing scams after their device is stolen.
This is one. Data shows that Apple's technical solutions and policies (e.g. disallowing repair for phones marked lost or stolen) caused iPhone thefts to plummet when they were rolled out, and were so effective that they became a model for the rest of the industry.
"Thefts of iPhones in London fell by 24% in the first five months of 2014 compared to 2013, while in San Francisco they fell by 38%, and in New York by 19%, according to data from the New York attorney general's 'Secure Our Smartphones' initiative, following the introduction of the kill switch – officially called "activation lock" – feature in the iOS 7 mobile software which lets owners remotely wipe and lock their phones if they are stolen."
I don't understand the problem here. Living in EU country. Nobody would ever try to steal so publicly from you.
There will be some deeper problem in London, hmm hmm hmm. I wonder what is it.