Is London a crime infested shithole?

John Worboys committed his offences as a taxi driver 2007-8.

You'll find criminals in all cities, throughout time. Reaching back almost 20 years to suggest getting into a cab in London isn't safe is a stretch of ludicrous proportions.

Same! But I don’t feel scared. Interesting isn’t it how much is down to personal perspective.

It happened in Surrey.

is Surrey a crime infested shit hole?

OMG

London is no worse now then its always been. Now if you want to move to somewhere like Hull I guarantee you’ll think of London as paradise.

He was carrying / concealing something and being aggressive and extremely mad. I didn't hang around to find out what it was.

Yeah Epsom is a small town in Surrey.

London is perfectly safe. It's a sophisticated huge city with different areas having different positives and negatives. But it's not a shit hole whatsoever. Not compared to plenty of other places in the UK.

Well, to be fair, no major city these days is. But we have had very few attacks since the London Bridge attack in 2019. Would suggest that the police and MI5 do a good job of keeping us sae.

Err, I'm fairly sure Goldfinch Bottom, West Berkshire is not on anyone's terrorist hit list. 😁

I know north London very well indeed. Many of my friends are in Tottenham, Haringey and Archway. Also Edmonton and Enfield. They don't report lawlessness. In fact lots of areas of North London have been "gentrified" in recent years.

Where on earth do you live?!

I've lived in London for 45 years now and for most of that time used TfL daily. It's absurd to say that you're seeing that regularly.

What do you mean by this:

Sadiq's solve for phone thefts is a yellow line...

(Genuine question - I don't understand what you're trying to say)

I don't remember the guy with no legs but also walked on The Cut almost every day for about 15 years (about 2005-2020)! Generally felt safe but maybe not towards the end.

Used to love the street food v near Waterloo - the Mexican in particular!

Funny you mentioning the Cut. Our last Xmas party was up there and returning to the tube afterwards, two employees had their phones stolen in separate incidents.

Friday night, lots of people around, man snatched a phone and when one of our team gave chase, he pulled a knife and stared him down. Not worth it, so let him walk away with it. That sums up London for me now. Get a cab and travel in groups for safety.

Agree fucking it’s fucking vile @BlakeCarrington

What does “Sadiq's solve for phone thefts is a yellow line...” mean?

Nah. London is fine. Some areas have occasional problems, but overall it’s perfectly safe.

It “looked like he had a weapon”?

no offence but this sounds like a common or garden encounter with a nutter that happens everywhere

Nowhere is 100% safe from terrorism, is it? Terrorist attacks can happen anywhere. It ws the same back in the 80s when the IRA was active. I remember when there were some bombs left in litter bins in my local high street.

I live in north london and work in town (soho)

I left London after 10 years (when I was 28) and was glad to go. I wasn't unsafe but I didn't feel comfortable going out at night by myself. Even then the grooming gangs were everywhere. Being a female undergrad could be risky.
Getting to know people was extremely hard, there seemed little sense of community and yes there were some nasty crimes and a lot of trivial ones that were still very wearying.
Now I live in a village where I know about half the 400 residents to chat to, and if I need help with anything, I can ask the village FB group. Usually someone is willing & able. Been here 15 years, lots of friends, no crime yet. A lovely place where I can run alone in the evenings without being hassled, and a decent place to raise ds.

unfortunately woman raped outside nightclub is not an unusual occurrence in any city or town in the uk. And I suspect, used to be even more common when nightclubs were more popular

Whereabouts are you?

I just try and keep to myself

Probably best for everyone @SalmonOnFinnCrisp if you have that extreme perspective.