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Comment by dtf | Hacker News Reader

"The one dark spot on my stay in that neighborhood was one night I walked to a pharmacy a few blocks away from the hotel, and two men on a motorcycle drove up on the sidewalk and tried to snatch my phone out of my hand."

Lovely to read this travelogue, but my heart sank when I read this, as it's an unfortunate reality of living in London at the moment. Thankfully the author was quick enough to evade them.

Be careful about using your phone on the street, day or dark, as it's extremely obvious from far away (eg for somebody sat on a moped pillion) when a potential victim is engrossed in their phone-work and not 100% attending to their surroundings.

Many friends and colleagues have suffered from this scurge, and the moped oiks really have no scruples (one friend was heavily pregnant when she was mugged).

Take care, but don't let that put you off enjoying a great city.

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Yes this is getting bad. It happened to my father a few years ago as well when he was sitting on the side of the road answering a phone call with the window open in Chiswick. Fortunately he grabbed the guy and shut the window on his arm. He got free but not until he'd got a couple of broken fingers.

Police did nothing because the bike was stolen. And thus the cycle continues.

I don't understand this story at all.

> I don't understand this story at all.

setquk's father was sat in a car parked at the side of the road, presumably in the driver's seat, with the window open, and was using a mobile phone.

Someone came along on a motorbike, reached in through the open window, and grabbed his phone with the intention of stealing it.

He was quick enough to get hold of the would-be thief's arm and wind the window up, with the intention of trapping the thief there and summoning the police to arrest them.

Unfortunately, the thief escaped (but suffered some broken fingers in the process, presumably as setquk's father tried to hold him there); and unfortunately, although setquk's father was able to give the police the licence-plate number of the motorcycle the thief was using, this didn't help to track it down because the motorcycle was also stolen (and I guess the thief abandoned it shortly after this incident).

setquk sees this as another example of the same phenomenon described in the article and by dtf: opportunistic mobile-phone thieves on motorcycles.

Nailed it

> Yes this is getting bad.

Actually, is getting better [1]. Somebody posted the link right above your comment.

> It happened to my father a few years ago [...]

And you assume that nothing changed since then.

[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/23/met-police-s...

How can they say there has been a reduction when the people on 101 tell you to sod off and speak to your insurance company?

This has happened to two people I know in 2018.

Mate, I think you might have some logic issues... I doubt the police told your friends to sod off. And what exactly did you expect them to do? Get 10 patrols, 1 heli in the air, organize a man hunt to find a bloody phone? Try reporting a crime that involves bodily harm or weapons, see how fast they react. It's a matter of priorities. There was an armed robbery at the off licence where I buy smokes from, the police was there in about 15 minutes after it happened, they chatted with everyone around (there is a pub right next door), they checked the cameras and it seems, as per the owner, they found the perpetrator. As a funny note, the dude managed to steal about 20 quid, all the store had in notes at the time. So chill, have a kitkat, stuff is getting better.

I’m not sure you understood. Regardless of whether they send out the helicopter, if they don’t take a report, the crime isn’t counted. You can’t say anything meaningful about whether crimes are getting more or less prevalent if your stats are bad.

You assume they didn't take the report based on what? On the OP suggesting the police told his friends to sod off?

Hopefully with the met cleared to knock these moped riders off we’ll start to see a decrease in moped related crime.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/23/met-police-s...

She got a bit unlucky tho I must say. I've lived there for 10 years, and have never seen it happen. I can only think of two friends who've been mugged during that time as well. Assuming 30 friends that's 150 man years per mugging :)

EDIT: she

Yep, 10 years here and never seen it either. Maybe these people target more touristy areas. Author is a she btw :)

The touristy areas thing is probably a big deal. I've also spent ~10 years in London, some of it in Zone 1 without witnessing any attempted street thefts or knowing of any friends being mugged. Approx 1 week in Athens: two, one targeting me (neither successful)

There might be a difference in street crime between London and Athens but it's not that big.

It definitely happens. I live in N5 and my old flatmate had has phone taken from him right outside Arsenal tube station!

I've also been walking on the footpath on New North Road when two guys on scooter have sped past.

Also in N5 and know a few people that have had their phones stolen this way.

I lived in Peckham for 1.5 years and was threatened three times, each time having to take evasive action. And that was in 2001. It's worse now.

How sure can you be that it's worse now if you haven't lived in Peckham since 2001? There doesn't seem to be any discernible upward trend:

http://www.ukcrimestats.com/Neighbourhood/Metropolitan_Polic...

The overall rate of violent crime in London is lower now that it was in 2001. And Peckham was a much rougher neighborhood in 2001 than it is now.

My wife had her phone robbed from her in this way in Canonbury (N5) 2 years ago.

It was very scary for her since they went up onto the curb and pushed her onto the tarmack as they grabbed it. It happened at around 6am in the morning at most 20 metres from our flat which was on a quiet terrace of victorian houses.

It's not just touristy areas. It's probably easier for the motorbike thugs to operate in places which have relatively quiet roads that they can escape on. I suspect that if you live in a nice area, but close to some of the inner city ghettos you are most at risk. I've also seen it happen in and around the parks.

20 years here (in this stint) and I've never seen it but I do tend to avoid crowded places (social anxiety) except when peak travelling.

I do know people who've been moped'd and mugged - never suffered either myself (although I apparently have a "resting hate scowl" according to my sister which scares people away.)

I think it depends on the area - I've seen it happen twice in broad daylight on Clerkenwell Road near Farringdon station over the last couple of years and it's happened to a friend of mine near Waterloo.

Seen it happen right next to me at bus stop on City Road. Keep tight hold of your bag and keep your phone in your pocket...

Do you live in central London? It's hard for me to imagine you wouldn't come across it if you lived within Zone 2, say - I only lived in London a relatively short time, but some guys tried to mug me (I didn't have my phone out), I found a phone on the street and returned it to its owner, and I lost count of the friends it happened to, the incidents on the road I lived on, etc.

I have lived in central London for 25 years and never experienced this, nor do I know anyone who has.

However, I know the problem exists and I have just been lucky. I am not claiming that my experience invalidates that of others - just adding my anecdote to the pile.

Depends how used to living in a big city you are. I think those of who live here have a bit more situational awareness (that said, the moped thing is new and maybe they roll up so fast situational awareness won't help).

I think it partly comes down to what you look like and how you act on the street. Of the people I know who have had their phones snatched the common denominator was usually being too comfortable standing on a street staring at their phones. It's hard to miss kids on bikes/mopeds if you're watching for them, but if you're not and they appear then they'll go for you.

I've lived in zone 2 for three years and not had any issues.

I've seen it happen once & heard of it happening to a couple of friends of friends. Probably depends on the area - the one I saw was on City Rd which is known to be bad for it.

Maybe it's less woman years per mugging.

I've been living in central London (zone 1) for 3 years now and never had any issue (nor my partner, nor anybody I know). It might also be due to the area being touristy or not.

I remember a crime map (I can't find out this link anymore...) showing that the side of London bridge which faces Tower Bridge had a high crime rate whereas the other side was absolutely safe. So if you want to cross London Bridge without taking a picture of Tower Bridge, pick the correct side :)

London is a big city though. As most big cities, I would never expect it to be totally safe.

> the side of London bridge which faces Tower Bridge had a high crime rate

I wonder if that's a function of the traffic level (it's a lot busier than the other side in peak) as much as tourists taking photos?

10 years and never happened. Heard it happen to more than one female friend, think it's somehow a gendered crime.

My mother in law warned us that we cannot go to Warsaw because it's the criminal capital (she moved to Germany 30+ years ago); turns out it's probably the safest capital city among Berlin, Paris and Rome by such a large margin that it's not even funny.

Absolutely - and kudos to the OP for not letting this spoil their trip, nor dominate what was a delightful travelogue

I lived in London for all of 2 weeks before this happened to me. It's pretty frequent in the Islington and Angel areas. Be careful.

> It's pretty frequent in the Islington and Angel areas

Around 50% of Islington's population are in social housing < 20% of whom work.

In response to this the British police have recently changed the law allowing them to chase and hit motorcyclists with their cars. Last year, the gangs would ride scooters without wearing a helmet. This would mean that the police weren't authorised to chase them, as chasing them could cause them to drive dangerously and harm themselves

Being pedantic, but it is an important point in a free society: the Police cannot change the law. They have changed their rules of engagement for particular officers, but the relevant law is still the same - and might well be tested in court: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-46440172

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