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.

Not much diversity in the BBC is there especially at the top

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154732082588016&id=328985938015

This from harrow. On the same day a few minutes walk away there was also a shooting.

We have hardly any police to protect us. They are closing the police stations. We have 1 left and they are talking of closing this also!! Feel like we've been abandoned. The gangs are running the streets.

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154730547438016&id=328985938015

Sorry this is the video. The other one is just drunken idiots!

I'm really quite old and have seen London through quite a lot of decades. Lots has not changed, the fear of terrorism felt the same with IRA as now. The crime has shifted to different crimes. In the 1970s almost everyone I knew was burgled or had cars or car contents stolen.

Now that home and car security is improved it seems that has moved to the street. Mainly I feel safe in London when visiting DC and DGC a lot. It's a big wonderful city as it always was.

The tragic difference in my span of decades is the number of poor souls on the streets (not just London) clearly suffering from MH problems and a danger to themselves and occasionally others. The pendulum has definitely swung too far from the old asylums to (little) care in the community. I am far more disturbed by this than the tiny risk of random acid or knife attack.

Most of these are gang related surely?

Police station closures an issue for sure
I think crime is under reported in the London papers at the moment
But I do wonder of some of that is at the request of the police

Does anyone remember that point, c 11pm on the night of London riots where the media suddenly kept re reporting the same stuff in Clapham, that was blatantly because they didn't want to report how madly it was spreading, my phone was pinging till 3am ....and the following days friends and colleagues all said "what happened in my area isn't in the news"?

I think the police have to tread a fine line, they've got to deal with lack of resources as well as not announcing it for fear of making things worse.

It is being reported locally but that is because we are witnessing it with our own eyes and mobile phones. They can't really deny it is happening. Also People saying that crime rates are much lower than they were five years ago in London. That maybe so but the police are not acting against crimes that would have previously resulted in arrests. The video I posted showed a cat being used as a weapon, at least one person stabbed but no arrests. No wonder as only 2 police on scene. Five years ago there would have been 2 police fans full to round them up!

I agree the mental health patients and homeless on the streets is a huge problem also.

*Car as a weapon not cat! 🐈
*police van not fan!

I do agree with the police that people shouldn't walk along waving expensive mobiles in the air. As they say you wouldn't withdraw £500 cash and walk along waving it. I'm always telling my DCs not to do it as it also means you're less alert.

Have given DDs many rape alarms over the years but when you're young you think you're invincible! I do worry about DD3 walking home from tube after nursing shifts but I would worry just as much anywhere else too.

Every area I've lived in in London has had a proper community. A real mix of old London and incomers. People chat in the post office just like anywhere else. I think it's less different than non-Londoners imagine. In my DD's area of N London they have a large Irish gypsy family, a Nigerian family, plenty of city types, nurses, doctors, all sorts and they all chat at the coffee shop.

Mrsglow, I know it's a serious subject, but I just pissed myself laughing at cats being used as weapons, and police fans to round up criminals

Best typos

Acid attack last night in my area, one last week too. And they're trying to close our police station even though we already share a police force with 2 other boroughs.

lazycrazyhazy - isn't that one step away from saying women shouldn't walk around at night by themselves? If I want to walk around using my mobile (I doubt whether many people wave expensive mobiles in the air) I should be able to without fearing it will be grabbed. If I want to drive my Porsche along the street I should be able to without fearing robbery. If I want to use a Louis Vuitton briefcase I should be able to - without being stabbed for it (as in case the other day). Btw I don't have any of these things except old PAYG.

Feels the same as ever - except going through Latimer Rd on the tube and passing right past Grenfell every day...still horrific no matter how many times you see it.

Women are also advised to have their phone out when walking alone.

The video I posted showed a cat being used as a weapon

Having been on the receiving end of a few scratches myself, I could well imagine this . Sorry, it's a serious subject but this made me snigger!

I also think crime rate statistics are deceptive. I imagine because there are a lot fewer police, a lot of crime isn't being recorded in the way it was historically and that a lot isn't reported.

I reported someone who breaks the law regularly to my local police and nothing has been done about it, the person is still breaking the law (in public outside, every day).

😂 🐈 the new offensive weapon of choice!

One crime being downplayed at the moment is shoplifting. The police in Harrow will no longer come out to routine calls and retailers are on their own. Retailers are hushing it up but there are professional gangs doing as they please. I'm not talking of Central London but the outer boroughs.

The boy who was murdered in Larkhall Park with a dog as the weapon probably has family members who still shed tears.

I wasn't laughing about dangerous dogs. I know from experience how some people use them aggressively. It was my typo about cats instead of Cars!

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/20/official-figures-show-biggest-rise-crime-in-a-decade

We're not imagining it, it seems.

Serf, thanks for that.

Now that May has found money from the magic tree for other reasons, I am hoping she will find some to restore the police she removed.....

glacinda that's a completely different issue and you are quite right that it's not in the least bit funny. It's horrific. We were laughing at the idea of gangs using cats as weapons, based on a previous typo.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-40665733

Mmm... on the other hand: "Yet the Crime Survey of England and Wales, based on people's experiences of crime, showed a 7% drop. The Crime Survey is always published on the same day as the ONS figures. Its results are based on a face-to-face survey of 38,000 adults and children in which they are asked about their experiences of crime in the previous year - which means it does include crimes that are never reported to the police."

I do find that quite odd. I am genuinely wondering what is going on.

Mary, I don't find that too strange. A sample is always limited in how much it can be accurate when you start extrapolating data.

Very true, we have a very divided country and some people may feel they have little to lose.