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.😫

Agree fucking it’s fucking vile @BlakeCarrington

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.

It's not always safe getting a cab though.
John Warboys was a taxi driver

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!

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

OMG

It happened in Surrey.

is Surrey a crime infested shit hole?

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

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.

Were they describing it as a crime infested shithole in general or in relation to this awful crime that didn't take place there?

No idea - she's not answering those questions.

I think there has been a change in the last few years , more chaotic. I am a Londoner by birth and think some areas are more edgy than they used to be, I know some people really disagree but just my observation, I am hoping we don’t follow US city trends and just accept it as part of life as people and businesses will move out. I moved out of central West London last year not because of crime (although some local streets now have private patrols at night paid for by residents with scary looking dogs in vans) but more general ease of life issues, I was temporary living in another Borough and just realised quality of life was better there so moved.

I meant cities tbf!

No. Many of us live here and have done for years safely and without incident. I have lived here since 1995 (most of my adult life). I have raised a child here. Yes there is crime, find me a city without crime. But I have never been mugged or burgled. I have never felt unsafe out at night. I feel much safer here than in much of the UK.

I’ve seen far worse examples of inner city crime in English market towns of the sort which are held up as examples of where people should want to move. Appalling levels of public drunkenness and antisocial behaviour.

I am sick to the back teeth of reading threads about it on here. This doesn’t in any way reflect the reality of what living in London is like.

If anyone posted a thread with the same title substituting any other UK city they would be told, rightly, that they were being a judgmental snob. But because it’s London its OK to post this toxic and defamatory Reform propaganda.

In general.

Really? Lawlessness

I simply don't believe you. To say this means there is an agenda at play.

I don't feel scared per se...I'm a nicely invisible 40 woman

But I think antisocial behaviour aggression and crime is on the up.

Things like blatant money laundering on high streets...

I'm just fatigued and depressed by it.

I dont have an agenda, its just an opinon.

I think it extends beyond london...

i find it alarming you can inflict pretty serious damage to someone now and theres little to no consequence...

I wonder if they were posting this shit narrative when Johnson was Mayor and many types of crime were actually higher?