to wonder what is happening to London!?

[AisforAria]

Anyone else worried about the sudden rise in acid attacks, moped thieves etc? It feels a bit like the rule of law is breaking down. All this simmering violence - London feels really alien and hostile these days.

I'm in moped snatch haven.

The kid on the moped that died was in Islington; however, police were never allowed to routinely give chase to either motorcycles or mopeds before this either - his death has just highlighted that policy to the public.

I honestly don't know. Personally I felt less safe ten years ago, but I was living in a different area of London then so it could be because of that.

On the other hand, since having DD, reading reports of violence affects me more than it used to.

I feel like even the stats don't tell you much though because any rise or fall in crime could be down to an increase or decrease in reporting.

Guess I'm on the fence.

OP I agree with you. Think it depends on where you are. In our pocket of South London there has definitely been a recent increase in moped crime affecting normal people going about their lives in broad daylight. It's quite saddening actually.

Back in the 1840s there was a fear of garrotting. In the 1950s it was razor gangs. There's always something. Not particularly worrying me though.

Felix Did you study history of crime at University? Students really get into the garroting moral panic!

kirinim- What on earth have Mr Farage and Ms Hopkins got to do with acid attacks- these are young people on scooters throwing acid at anyone who happens to be walking along or they are and stealing phones etc. If it's to do with politics at all, it's the politics of envy because they can't be bothered to work to improve their situation and the repercussions are not severe enough.

It's July. It's silly season when things get reported because there's fuck all else going on. In the past it's been foxes mauling babies, dangerous dogs...Come late September these things won't get reported and you'll forget about them unless you belong to a vulnerable group

It's very odd to suddenly have so many, although some are being reported from last year. There www.justspringersrescue.co.ukas a moped/machete attack today too. Very unusual, I'd say although knife crime is rife and rarely reported.

Where the hell is the acid coming from? They can't all work in labs/schools where acid is available.

A few attacks happened very near to me over the last few weeks and there are often young men buzzing around on mopeds. I'm not shaken by much, but I will admit feeling a little nervous whenever I heard a moped.

Yes I'm in a London borough and it's rapidly deteriorating - drug dealing, gang violence. The police seem very thin on the ground. It depends on the area though as a mile or two up the road and everything is lovely. Tougher sentencing and zero tolerance are needed. At the moment it feels like the gangs have upper hand.

Crime rates in London, including violent crime, are well below what they were five years ago.

Yes, very worried here.

10 years ago the news story in the headlines would have been about a married couple together for 60 years. Now crime is rife. Every week/day, there is a robbery, burglary, attack, rape, theft. Recent acid attack locally too.

No police either. So, for here, it is getting worse.

Hang on. One person appeared in court charged with GBH with intent in connection with five acid attacks around Hackney last week that the police are linking with robbery.

Another person has appeared in court for spraying acid on two people in a car in Beckton about six weeks ago that appears to have no motive.

I've seen footage of someone spraying fluid on a number of teenage boys at a London station but the substance, though noxious, may not have been acid.

There is also a flurry of footage of people stealing mopeds and scooters, who though violent, do not seem to be using acid.

So that's two recent cases of acid attacks in London OP

Ginger, it's easy to concoct at home.

Limited, no, I think the press would rather report on Brexit and numerous other issues. Silly season might involve reporting trivia, but this is not trivial. A lot of gang related stuff doesn't go in the paper because it's considered limited to the gangs, but this is broader.

I think Deliveroo and that type of firm will maybe look at online tips so drivers don't end carrying cash. I can see all the problems with that though.

I think sentences for these crimes, which presumably come under gbh, have always been far too low but frankly the prison service seems to be so understaffed I'm amazed they're not having a recruitment crisis. Mate of mine took early retirement though, I expect a lot are hanging on for that and then the recruitment crisis will kick in. The only reports I hear are based on prisoner safety but the staff are hugely at risk too.

The problem is lack of funding for the police. The Met used to have a dedicated motorbike crime unit but it was disbanded a few years ago as part of austerity cuts. Almost immediately there was a sharp rise in motorbike thefts in London.

The big motorbikes get sold (often abroad) or broken up for parts, while the scooters are used for street muggings, drug running and stealing more bikes.

I don't know why you're worrying OP. It's unlikely to affect you unless you are part of the demographic mostly targeted for acid attacks which is women suffering domestic violence.

It happens quite a lot but because it's DV it doesn't get reported unless it's really juicy [hmm}. Sometimes the men do it themselves but more usually they hire other people to do it. No one is very interested.

Katie Piper is the best known victim and she was attacked by someone her violent ex boyfriend hired 10 years ago. But there are others. Adele Bellis was attacked in Lowestoft by someone her boyfriend hired two years ago, I read of another girl in Romford, Essex, who was similarly assaulted in what seems like a similar DV attack but a case of mistaken identity by the person hired to carry it out. There was also another woman in Dagenham who was targeted in recent years by another woman who seems to have been motivated by envy over a man.

So if you're not in an abusive relationship or at a pinch, a Deliveroo driver, I think you'll be okay.

I'm a Londoner & definitely think there has been a rise in violent crime. When I was younger it was common thinking that if you avoided drugs & gangs, didn't walk through the certain streets at night etc you would be pretty much "safe". I also never really have my phone on display, I've seen people leave laptops/phones unattended countless times in coffee chains etc & cant understand it. Most thiefs are opportunists.

I disagree that it's the media whipping things up (perhaps in some cases) as a lot of knife crime doesn't get reported nationally. Obvs the police cuts & the fact gangs have cottoned on that they can escape on mopeds hasn't helped either.

I'm a born and bred Londoner, and have lived here all my life with the exception of one year in a different UK city.

I have lived in 5 different areas of London in Central, SE, North and West. I have also spent quite a significant portion of time in a few areas of East London.

Different areas have always felt more dangerous or hostile than others, and there are many areas that my Husband would avoid, let alone me. I do think though, that the current situation is terrifying, and I no longer feel at all safe or at ease anywhere in London. This feeling has definitely been increasing over the last few years, but particularly in this last year.

I find myself feeling completely paranoid and nervous when I go out now. I constantly think that I'm going to be caught up in an act of terror, and find myself being hyper-vigilant, and also looking for exits and places I could hide in. I also find myself feeling more and more scared of acid attacks and knife crime, as well as moped style attacks.

I love London, but I would move out of it tomorrow if my husband would agree, for fear of crime. I really don't think it's a pleasant place to raise our daughter.

I called the police recently following a road traffic incident. Got told by operator that they wouldn't come out as a matter of policy. Not enough resources, not a priority. Does feel to me a bit like rule of law breaking down a bit. All comes back to funding.

I was parked at school runtime near a school. My car was hit by driver driving erratically at speed on wrong side of road attempting to squeeze through none existent space (luckily it was my car damaged not a child hit tbh) other driver attempted to flee initially bit when stopped was abusive and shouting (in front of school kids leaving school) and refusing to give details.

So obviously not as serious as some of incidents in London recently but not your bog standard vender bender either.

London, has never felt safe to me and in the current climate I wouldn't be visiting.

I do think that there is a violent undercurrent brewing in the UK at the moment, it's not going to take much for things to kick off.

I don't know about statistically more dangerous but where we are in north London there are now more than daily reports on the local FB group of moped crimes mostly stealing phones - but from people sat in bus stops or in the bus queue. It seems more prevalent. But also social media is more present than it used to be.

I feel the same OP , I work in a family business in London & we have been attacked five times this year by these scooter scumbags nine time since the local police station was closed
We have had to put metal bars across the windows & doors ( shutters not permitted)
Then just as we were really scared 😳 a local man was murdered for a phone & Rolex
I'm also sick of social media comments about immigration etc... when these arseholes are locals,
We are looking to sell up because of this even thought we have been here forever

Slimthistime I think what you say is right but I also think there are a lot of different motives for acid attacks. However, I do believe it's a particular thing about marking your victim and I think that should be taken account of in sentencing and severely punished as an aggravating factor.

I still maintain that many of them are perpetrated in domestic violence and are not reported because it's not newsworthy. I am a journalist and have covered some of these cases. But it wasn't until I spent a year covering DV cases, week in, week out, that the reality of the statistic of 'two women in the UK killed by their partners every week' dawned on me. We were spoilt for choice, for want of a better phrase. It really happens.

Acid attacks are also carried out in inter-gang violence and now, because it's so 'fashionable' are used to create fear during muggings.

There was also one I reported on which was a road rage attack with the perpetrator carrying his acid in one of those squeezy Lemon Jiffy containers and using it on another man who annoyed him. No gang involvement.

That's what I don't understand. Why would you carry a Jiffy lemon squeezy filled with acid? Why would you go to a DIY shop, buy it, get a Jif squeezy from the supermarket, empty it and refill it with acid? Do people really understand the serious harm that would do? I'm not advocating letting them off. I'm just baffled.

I would love to show people some of the cctv I've got but I don't want to scare people

It's not that the police are not allowed to chase them it's that they will be prosecuted it they hurt them ,
An ambulance lady was attacked recently its very worrying , the emergency services are obliged to help these bastards but they have no support themselves

The criminals seem to have such little value in their own lives & in turn for their victims. Cant see it improving.