Thefts, phone snatching, intimidation in London

[OztoLdn]

Hi, we moved from Sydney to London (Hither Green) 4 months ago.
Weekly I see at least 1/2 posts of someone saying that their phone has been either snatched or they were intimidated or even shown a knife for their phones.
I have a daughter who will start secondary school next year and this makes me really nervous.
Does this happen everywhere in London? More in some areas than others?
Are there other areas in South East zone 3/4 a little more safe where perhaps this doesn’t happen that often?
Thank you

That's why people have huge tethers on their phones now to make it difficult to grab.

Happened to my friends daughter on the train grown man snatching a phone off a 13 year old then ran off the train. Not been an issue in my part of London

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1291210034/pastel-green-macrame-phone-lanyardphone?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_c-electronics_and_accessories&utm_custom1=k_Cj0KCQjwpvK4BhDUARIsADHt9sS5ISfIqGNmPszNQtKcuyi7nZfYDtQ2A1gvjwB0fNZzvgcwhgR0A-UaAkp1EALw_wcB_k&utm_content=go_21811975416_169452894456_717564634769_aud-1186559235309:pla-315906365651_m__1291210034engb_473766528&utm_custom2=21811975416&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpvK4BhDUARIsADHt9sS5ISfIqGNmPszNQtKcuyi7nZfYDtQ2A1gvjwB0fNZzvgcwhgR0A-UaAkp1EALw_wcB

This is what everyone seems to have now to prevent it.

That's why people have huge tethers on their phones now to make it difficult to grab.

Wouldn’t that mean the phone owner would then be dragged by the thief?

This is a fairly recent phenomenom in all aprts of London, inevitable once kids and tourists started carrying around phones worth £1000s i guess. There's a really large parts market and, tbh, everyone who has used one of their local phone repair shops to replace their kids smashed phone for school is guilty of taking part in it.

My feeling is that it will start to calm down as the police will eventually be forced (by the mayor and negative publicity) to crack down on it as its reaching epidemic proportions now with international reach. My colleague was over from Isreal last week staying in a hotel near tottenham court road and got done at 7.30 in the morning as he went out for a jog. He was not impressed. Colleage got done in Moorgate week before leaving office. The met are busy preparing a taskforce apparently.

The other thing is its pretty much London and London boroughs I think. Im in a commuter town just outside central but still zone 6 and visible crime like that is non existant here. One son goes into London for school and the Y7/8 kids get constantly shaken down for their airpods and iphones. They soon learn to travel in packs and not wave them around. The schools have staff at transport hubs at start of the year etc. Still goes in waves and does every new school year. Its horrible for London kids starting secondary. Give them cheap phones for the first couple of years, no airpods and tell them to keep them hidden and use discretely is my advice.

And yes Ive lived in or near S London since the early 90s and I had my phone nicked once by kids in Clapham in the mid nineties and thats about it. You hear about the incidents, and there clearly is a spate happening, but in a city of millions the chances of it happening to you or your child is still tiny, and if it does, they snatch and run, theres no real violence at least (not to minimise the effects, of any theft)

This! I ended up coming off local FB groups, they really had a negative impact on me. All bad news stories and not always true. Honestly, steer clear and you will feel a lot better. 23 years in London, fairly careless about walking around with my phone and never had one taken. It does happen of course but I think if you are street wise and sensible, you can really minimise risk.

They are huge rope things , very visible , you can wear them across the body. They're so big I think snatchers don't even bother once they see them.

@LoafofSellotape That’s good to know. I’ll recommend them to our friends from Korea when they visit here as phone snatching and mugging is very rare there.

I lived in London for 25 years and the only phone snatching happened very early on when mobiles were a new thing, didn't hear of it happening again.

This is a new thing unfortunately and I think it's because they can be resold to China as someone mentioned.

Look on Amazon and get a rope like phone tether , really thick and not easy to cut if wearing across body without you noticing.

It's such a horrible thing 😢

Phone snatching has been common here for years - I've lived/worked in north London areas like Islington and Camden. Lots of warning posters put up by police and community organisations. I've never seen it happen or been a victim, but it gets reported on so I have no doubt that it happens a lot.

I do use my phone on the street though - I need it for maps a lot, checking messages and email. I try to be aware of my surroundings and I often use a tether cord, but it gets tangled with my bag strap so don't always remember to put it back on. Honestly I just try to make sure everything is backed up because one day it'll get stolen or lost and it would be annoying to replace but all my data would come back (I'd be more upset over losing photos than anything).
My phone is never a particularly expensive model but I don't know if the thieves can really tell that, it tends to happen fast.

Yeah, there's posters in our area saying "watch out for moped muggers" although I think they've switched to Lime bikes. I know it happens but, likewise, I've never seen it and it hasn't happened to me or any family

The latest version of Android has anti theft on it under security settings that will detect if your phone is snatched and automatically lock it - you have to go in to setting and enable it.

I'm in East Dulwich and it's rife here too. I don't think it would happen as much in Dulwich Village- much more sedate - if you can afford to live there.!

This exactly. I live in the area too. The police do catch them sometimes.

My son has been walking to school by himself for years now with no problems. Try not to worry OP, the FB groups really do overdramatise everything. Teach your daughter some street smarts, it's a good skill to have for life.

I guess also making sure our young people know what to do if it happens to them (hand it over, grr), how to get home if they are stuck without phone or wallet, how to seek assistance - they just want your stuff, they are out to make money, they threaten people but they don't want the risk of hurting you. Annoying , inconvenient, unfair, but highly unlikely to result in injury. I know it is really scary, but also it doesn't help anyone if we make it seem scary. Help her keep risks in proportion and emphasise ability to cope, as you can't eliminate risks. Hopefully you can ask around parents of older children, find out what it's been like so you can assess it more.

Happened to my sister in Manchester a few years ago now.

The more "sedate", the more money, the richer pickings

@Davros

Definitely lots of money there! But hardly any lime bikes or scooters there as they would really stand out , plus also much wider pavements!

We went to East Dulwich a couple of weeks ago and we loved it, loved the vibe, the houses, and the area in general. We are considering to move there next year. I guess the phone snatching happens everywhere in London but I imagine in some areas more than others.

@OztoLdn

It's a brilliant area to live in. I have been here for 20 years and love it (phone snatching aside!)

Phone snatching is all over the East Dulwich facebook pages. Honestly I think it is everywhere in London and I wouldn't let it put me off living somewhere that I liked