In a very interesting article on the Slate website Kevin Bankston highlights that despite claims by some law enforcement officials that encryption is a tool that will allow criminals to evade justice, the use of strong encryption actually helps to reduce crime.
Bankston points out that although it is true that criminals will make use of encryption technology to shield their activities, the use of the technology will overall prevent millions of crimes. For example smartphone theft is at epidemic proportions, with millions being stolen annually which often involves robberies which are by definition violent crimes. However, strong encryption will block the criminals from using the commonly available tools to unlock a smartphone, rendering it useless to them.
The article also highlights that criminals are increasingly not just interested in the phone, but also the personal and other data contained on it which can for example, allow them to commit fraud or identity theft. It is not just personal data that is at risk, but also corporate data as people increasingly use mobile devices to access work e-mails and data. Strong encryption can prevent access to phone data and thus crimes associated with data theft.
Finally, it is worth noting that the FBI itself recommends encrypting your phone – this is despite the fact that FBI Director James Comey has joined in the anti-encryption crusade!