Is London a crime infested shithole?

I can do a really good Cockney though!

How so?

You can’t contribute to preserving the accents though!

It's deliberately disruptive tosh driven by Farage.

But I imagine @Netcurtainnelly knows that.

@BIWI but it’s different to be born & raised somewhere no?

You see, I do see myself as a True Londoner. I moved here when I was 21. I've lived here for 45 years.

I think i’m a true Londoner, born in z1 & raised in z 2/3.

If I moved to Cornwall would I become Cornish after a certain number of years?

Me too @BIWI but I was born in the Home Counties and brought up there, arriving in London in 1980. I love London but don't think I'm a Londoner. We moved a little way away about ten years ago.

I think it’s changed somewhat.

I grew up in a then fairly sketchy part, normal to see prostitution & druggies in the day etc but you knew where to avoid at certain times. As long as I stuck to the advice I was fine.

London in the 90s was dirtier, poorer & likely more crime ridden than now. However I did feel the area I live in became more dangerous for my children which I disliked, so many muggings of young boys on the way home from school. My neighbours son was mugged by a child with a knife on a busy street in the afternoon. That just didn’t happen when I was young & if it did more people would intervene.

We never go there nowadays

A true cockney is born within earshot of St Mary Le Bow on Cheapside. I think they have a wide range. I imagine a true Londoner is born and brought up in a London Borough.

You say tomAYto I say tomAH’O.

Because I was born in Zone 1 and, when they were a thing, had an 071 phone number.

I’m not a true Londoner either

I've lived here since 1981. From The North. Oh - how dare I! When will you agree I'm a 'true Londoner'?

I promise you that I'm fully integrated.

Born to the sound of Bow Bells

No. That's not about being a 'true Londoner' (whatever the fuck that is). That's the definition of a true Cockney. Totally different.

I've lived here for almost all of my 48 years, mostly in 'nice' parts, sometimes in ones not considered so nice. Crime ebbs and flows as in any big city, but I wouldn't say I feel less safe. Things have definitely become dirtier and more run down with more visible homelessness after so many years of Tory austerity but it doesn't make me feel endangered, it's just sad.

It's worse in the least privileged communities but 'gang related' violence only tends to affect people who have some connection with that culture (doesn't mean they are gang members but if they have family/friends involved or go to a school college where there are gang members it may affect you, otherwise unlikely to). Basically other than phone snatching stuff that happens in any city, casual visitors and people from areas without much gang violence and not likely to be affected by gang related crime, which is what a lot of people's panic seems to be about.

No, it isn’t. It is a city of millions of people though so of course there is more crime than local tiny village.

The way some people talk about a place people live is grim. You don’t want to live here? Fine. Don’t live here.

I actually do agree the death of the true Londoner is a tragedy. When I moved to London in 1998 you could still tell whether someone was north east south or west London by their accent. Now the London accent is diluted to the point of lost really.

they all had to ship out to Kent and Essex to make way for Sophie and James from Berkshire to buy their first flat in the docklands

Born to the sound of Bow Bells or similar. Reclaiming from all the day trippers and tourists who clog our streets obvs.

Where do you live?
You posted the link about a horrible crime that took place not in London to ask your question about how safe London is.

It's a shame that the op used the poor woman's gang rape as a launchpad for such a goody thread.

I have had my phone and purse stolen in a small town. It happens everywhere

What’s a true Londoner? How are you reclaiming the city? From who?

No it isn't
London is a lively vibrant and very interesting city.
Of course there is crime, there is some crime in every city, town and village in the world. London is no more violent or crime ridden than other major world cities and much less so than many.
Epsom isn't in London though it's a fairly affluent town in Surrey

@Netcurtainnelly

I copied this from social media

Then you need to use a bit more critical thinking.