Friend giving safety tips for London?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13787281/Moment-brazen-phone-thief-distracts-diners-piece-paper-swipes-device.html

See, clipboard theft is real.

Need context to comment. If she is saying ‘make sure you mind the gap’ on the tube then I would find that patronising but if she is making you aware of some local security threats and areas to avoid that previously would have been safe then I would take that as just a considerate friend and also would find it odd if she didn’t alert you to it.

I don't feel at all worried for my personal safety but I am super vigilant about my phone now in a way I wasn't a couple of years ago.

I haven't got a particularly expensive phone, but the thought that the hassle of losing it would entail is too much

Thought @Peonies meant laugh at the advice, not the person, as many have said they're curious too on the advice.

The comment about being thought patronising was a reference to all the criticism being levelled at the person offering advice in the OP’s scenario.

Clipboard thefts are when someone, often a child, will approach the potential victim sitting at a table in a cafe or bar and ask them to sign a spurious petition or make a donation to some cause (usually made up). It’s partly a distraction technique, partly to show where the victim’s purse or phone is for a later pickpocketing and in some cases the clipboard is out down on top of a phone or purse then both are lifted together and the thief walks off to a confederate who holds the stolen items.

It is rife, especially in summer when there is more alfresco dining and children are more available to help. Our poor waitress at lunch yesterday spent more time chasing off clipboard children asking for donations for their team’s new football strips than she did serving customers. The kids must have been no more than seven, if that. It was disgusting.

This

some parts are some aren’t. It’s a big place.

It depends what kind of safety tips. Can you give examples?

You sound miserable OP.

What’s a clipboard theft?

If I visited a city regularly I would find it patronising but generally harmless.

I would just send back a thumbs up emoji and leave it at that.

I lived in South London and now live in North and will be moving back South. Can’t say I have noticed any massive difference.

if you don't come here, how would you even know how it is these days?

I've lived and worked in London for many years - I had my phone stolen out of my jacket pocket last year and also stolen off my desk at work (building potentially open to anyone but I was in the room at the time - long story).
Now there's an outside card pass reader on my work building door and when out I always have my phone zipped into one of those Uniqlo bags and am extremely careful if I need to look at it when I'm walking . As a pp said I moved right next to a building and face away from the street.

Now I'll be thinking about not sitting in the last tube seat by the door though!!

Why ever not??

You should be thankful for her advice, London is not the place it was a couple of years ago. I wouldn’t go there now. No doubt people will slam me for saying this.

You don’t mention what she said, but wouldn’t be annoyed about this.

If you know it all already, so what - but working in the office a few days or visiting is not the same as living in a place and it might also be particularly relevant to the part of the city she lives.

Just look concerned and tell her you are concerned for her as she seems so very anxious
Reassure her that in your 20 years of travelling to and working in London you have never felt unsafe and that she will learn in time how to navigate the city 😂

One of my favourite things about London is the fact that people often don't dress understated. Anything goes. Wear what you want. The more outrageous dressing the better imho.

Crime has increased in London in the last few years, so it’s not surprising that some people who live there think it’s less safe than it was. But London still has less crime than the national average and isn’t somewhere that people need general crime warnings about.

What I find puzzling is that the country is obviously divided in 2 parts:
London: DANGER
Not-London: safe heaven with no risk of violence, thief, pickpockets - we're still working on the bat situation

There might be more cases in London, but there's about 9 million people in here! Put that in proportion with a little town of 20 thousand people.

Are people that naive they believe it's risk free outside of "London" and no risk of phone/ bag theft?

I’ve lived in central London for 20 years and I can honestly say I have never felt as unsafe as I do currently (for my belongings rather than myself and my kids). Perhaps the area I live but phone snatchers are now just part and parcel of every day life. They don’t care and you can spot them if you remain vigilant. I give all my visitors the warning of not taking their phone out on the street, regardless of whether they’ve never been to London or previously lived here. London isn’t okay at the moment I am sad to say. Also just to reassure anyone who finds such advice patronising, all my local WhatsApp groups constantly remind fellow central London dwellers of their safety and holding on to their things. It’s not patronising it’s just good current advice.

Omg people are SO touchy sometimes!! If someone is visiting me I’d give them the best directions / where to park etc. Surely EVERYONE wants to make a visit from a friend the nicest, easiest, safest it can be?!! I’m guessing you already knew all the hints ( watch your phone/ keep your bag zipped etc) but in an uncertain world, friends attempting to protect each other should surely never be cause for offense?! I’d suggest it was just your friend showing she cares - not trying to imply you were some sort of bumbling country bumpkin !! It’s along the lines of friends going on hols and checking everyone had their passports ( multiple times !!) - not because they think the others have been er travelled or are particularly careless, but just as a general way of saying “ we watch out for each other “

Tips and bats - we need to know 🧐