Is London a crime infested shithole?

[Netcurtainnelly]

Is London a crime infested shithole? 👀

A woman was gang raped after leaving a nightclub, has come up in the news today. I saw someone describing London as a crime infested shithole and it's not a safe place anymore.😫

Your attempt to weaponise the horrible crime is pretty poor, so put your stones down, OP.

On the other hand, a friend from New York was in London for a fortnight last month - I went down and spent a couple of days with her and had my usual, great time there.

The day before her flight home, she got back to her hotel to find her iPhone missing. She assumed it had been stolen - then found out she'd dropped it and one of those awful Londoners had taken it to the nearest police station.

She's been visiting London since 1986 and she left after 2 amazing weeks, even more in love with it and the UK in general.

I keep seeing these claims about Lobdon and the UK on social media (we're in the grip of Sharia law, are ruled by Muslims, blah blah) - posted either by MAGA idiots or bots.

Still haven't answered the questions @Netcurtainnelly

Your humour is misplaced bearing in mind a heinous crime has taken place. It's inappropriate.

I wouldn't describe it that way but I've had incidents about 20% of the time when I've had to go there in recent years.

One of the worst was walking down The Cut and some bloke came up to me and said I'd done something to him and needed to pay. He looked unhinged and It looked like he had a weapon on him. It was terrifying - this was about 6pm and everyone else just got out of the way in a 'mad bloke about to attack - clear' sort of way.

I think I assured him it was mistaken identity and he sort of let me go quite quickly without touching me. I basically ran for it the moment I had the chance.

I suppose that could have happened anywhere anytime but it's put me off London ever since.

I've lived in zone 2 for 20 years. DC were teenagers when we moved here. We used to live in a large village and when we left, the police were after a rapist who had raped a couple of different women late at night, dragging them into lanes/fields. I don't know if they caught him. Here I never needed to worry about DD coming home late at night. She'd either get the night bus to the end of our street, or the tube, where the station was 5 minutes away and plenty of people around. I wouldnt have let her walk home alone in the village.

Someone on a bike did try to grab DS phone once but didnt manage it. That's the sum total of it in 20 years! You just need to take basic precautions and be aware but that is true of anywhere.

I didn’t realise Epsom was in London.

as a Londoner yes there’s crime but it happens in ALL cities.

I live in London and not even one of the nice parts (SE) and I don’t feel unsafe at all. Nothing dangerous has ever happened to me or anyone I know. My road and surrounding areas are extremely quiet and peaceful.

Your attempt to stir up fear is pretty undignified too, OP.

Awful things happen everywhere, unfortunately. London's just about the safest big city in the world.

I've lived in london 40yrs.
We are approaching lawlessness now.

You can do what you like with virtual impunity.

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

I see abuse and violence on tfl far more regularly these days.

I just try and keep to myself.

That’s how I describe where I live in the NE. It’s terrible here

Epsom is NOT in London although after much wrangling Oyster was extended here less than ten years ago. It's classed as zone 6 but is very much in Surrey.

I walked along the Cut and Lower Marsh every working day and also often in the evening for almost 20 years. There were a few interesting characters around, most memorably the man with no legs who used a sort of skateboard to scoot himself around. But no trouble from anyone. You were unlucky.

I mean London is terroble and lawless it is true. There even some actual jostling when we went to try and see the new big rabbit at the local animal walk.

Not safe from terrorism at all.

I just try and keep to myself

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

Whereabouts are you?

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

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.

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

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.

It “looked like he had a weapon”?

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

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

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