Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

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forfun
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Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby forfun » Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:05 am

Just wanted to warn everyone to be vigilant, as a colleague was mugged last week whilst cycling down Thurleigh Rd. A moped sped past and literally snatched her bag from her front basket whilst she was cycling along.
She was understandably very upset and shaken by what happened. She had her phone, house keys and purse with money in her bag, and lost the lot.
I know there have been a lot of these particular types of muggings across London , and I personally know of two other friends in North London that have literally had their phones swiped from their hands whilst on the street using them!
Please be careful and warn your children not to walk along looking at their phones as its a very disturbing crime to witness.
Sadly, although the phone could be tracked to where it was being held, incredibly the police weren't interested in pursuing it?! Seems they have more important things to do than to help to safeguard the community ! :cry: :(
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BBens
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby BBens » Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:15 am

I have also seen 2 guys on push bikes cycle down the pavement on St. John's Hill scouting for things to steal. They look carefully at bike locks to see if there's an oppo. A few months ago I caught one trying to ripe my bike lock off mid-afternoon and saw the same people again last week. You can assume that they are probably doing a trawl of the area.
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papinian
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby papinian » Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:34 am

Yet more confirmation that crime is out of control in this area and the Met do less than nothing.

Of course, the fact that the number of members of the Wandsworth Met that actually live in Wandsworth can be counted on the fingers of two hands may have a lot to do with that. The majority don't even live in London but in white-flight commuter towns on the other side of the M25.
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forfun
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby forfun » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:21 pm

I must admit the total lack of community police patrolling the area does alarm me, and I find it incredible that they can find resources to have police who frequently stop cyclists on Wandsworth common [ and prosecute !] ,because cyclists aren't adhering to delegated cycle paths. I have seen them there many times.
Its just beyond crazy , when I would have thought everyone would agree that their help is needed more importantly to safeguard our streets first, and then to say that they do not have the time to follow up on the crimes mentioned ,is pretty lame and worrying.
IPhones have a tracking device ,so I can only assume that surely they might find some other evidence at the same address if followed quickly, such as in my colleagues situation[she was able to track where it was straight away] ?
How are we going to tackle these so called 'petty -crimes' if police aren't given the resources to do so. Do these incidents need to become serious and wait until someone gets pulled off their bike or indeed hurt ,which will ofcourse inevitably happen ? :o :(
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MPS Wandsworth
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby MPS Wandsworth » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:41 pm

Hello,

This post has been brought to our attention and we would like to address some of the comments made here.

We are more than aware of the moped crime issue on the borough, and it is something which is affecting many boroughs across London at this time. As you may be aware, there are restrictions in place which mean that only a small number of specialist police drivers are able to pursue mopeds. This is a policy we are obliged to obey, and it is not something which local officers can change or ignore.

The Metropolitan Police are currently running a prevention campaign called Be Safe (#SecureYourScooter), aiming to raise awareness of the theft of scooters and their subsequent use in crime. We are urging vigilance from both vehicle owners and other members of the public, and asking that scooter owners tighten up their security measures in order to make their bikes a more difficult target to steal. You can read more about this campaign here: http://news.met.police.uk/news/mets-be- ... ers-248027

We also highly recommend that you pay attention to your surroundings when using your phone in public. The offenders who drive by and snatch phones do this ‘professionally’, for want of a better word. If they see someone with their phone out who is not paying attention to their surroundings, they view them as an easy target, and the phone as an easy way of making money. Do not afford them the opportunity. You can find our crime prevention advice on this matter here: https://www.met.police.uk/crime-prevent ... nd-mopeds/

The number of neighbourhood officers we have available to patrol is limited depending on officer availability. One specific ward will not always be on duty to patrol, and when they are on duty they may have other prior engagements or investigations to follow up. With the current climate and recent horrific events in London, a lot of officers on Wandsworth Borough have been deployed elsewhere in London during their shifts, such as at the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire, or to conduct reassurance patrols in the aftermath of the London Bridge, Westminster and Finsbury Park terror attacks. When there are officers available they are tasked to patrol specific areas across the borough which are experiencing a high volume of crime.

We are investigating this type of crime specifically through a dedicated team on Wandsworth Borough. They investigate all offences of this nature, and are doing all they can to identify offenders and bring forward successful cases against them.

If you have seen anyone suspicious in the local area then we ask that you call us and tell us so we can send units to the area to try and speak to them. You can call 101, DM @MetCC on Twitter or report via our website: https://beta.met.police.uk/

In the situation described above, please call 999.

You can also use the same link to our website to see which crimes are most prevalent in your area. By typing your postcode or road name into the search box, you can find your ward and look at the top reported crimes, and the crime rate comparison within the borough and across the rest of London. For example, the top three crimes in Northcote ward in Battersea are currently Shoplifting, Miscellaneous Theft and Assault Without Injury: https://beta.met.police.uk/your-area/wa ... b=Overview

You can also use this page to voice your own concerns in your area. These are collated by the local ward officers, and are sent forward to be discussed at the next ward panel meeting. The concerns voiced using this feature on our website directly informs the ward priorities and how they are set, so we would strongly encourage that you make the use of this resource.

The issue of cyclists being stopped on Wandsworth Common falls within the jurisdiction of the Parks Police. They are employed by Wandsworth Council and are a completely separate body from us. You can find more information about them here: http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/20007 ... ce_service

Using the Find My iPhone tracking device is a highly unreliable means of tracing stolen property. This is because the location services rarely isolate the phone to a single address, and may suggest a block of flats or several houses in a row. We do not have the authority to enter any of these premises to search for the device, just because the app has indicated that it might be there.

The app is most effective when we know that the device is moving, and when we have some kind of description of the suspect in order to help us track and identify them. Without that our powers are severely limited as to what we can and can’t do.

At this time Wandsworth is still the safest inner London borough, and we are doing all we can to ensure that it remains an area where people are happy to live and work.
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papinian
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby papinian » Mon Jul 03, 2017 6:25 pm

MPS Wandsworth wrote:As you may be aware, there are restrictions in place which mean that only a small number of specialist police drivers are able to pursue mopeds. This is a policy we are obliged to obey, and it is not something which local officers can change or ignore.
Why isn't the Met leadership speaking out to get this policy changed, and to have stop and search brought back?

We have a situation in London where members of a minority group that makes up less than 15% of the population are responsible for a majority of crime street crimes, a majority of robberies and a majority of gun crimes.

We need an end to political correctness and bureaucracy and a return to real policing. We all witnessed the reduction in crime that followed the post 2011 riots arrests.
Last edited by papinian on Mon Jul 03, 2017 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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WorkfromhomeMum
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby WorkfromhomeMum » Mon Jul 03, 2017 6:37 pm

"We need an end to political correctness and bureaucracy a return to real policing."

Echo that.
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MGMidget
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby MGMidget » Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:28 pm

There are too many signs at the moment that the police need the 'up their game'. The criminals must be realising they are not even going to be pursued/investigated. If you don't take action to stamp it out it will get worse. Wandsworth is starting to feel a bit 'lawless'.
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papinian
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby papinian » Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:17 am

The really awful thing is that most of those responsible for the snatch thefts in this area are living in council housing, subsidised by the those of us who go out and work and are net taxpayers!

After the 2011 riots Wandsworth Council promised us that they would evict those households whose adult members were convicted of participating in the riots and looting at Clapham Junction and elsewhere. Not ONE SINGLE person was evicted. The criminals kept their subsidised housing. Another epic fail by Wandsworth Council.
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Jen66
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby Jen66 » Tue Jul 04, 2017 2:13 pm

The 'restrictions' being mentioned here are in reference to the moped thieves knowing how to stop any police in pursuit.

If they remove their helmets the police are not allowed to give chase and must immediately stand down. The thieves know this, and exploit it.

Seems crazy. And as a result the number of attacks has reached a terrifying level. And, once more, protecting criminals becomes more important than protecting innocent victims. Sigh
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SouthLondonDaddy
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby SouthLondonDaddy » Tue Jul 04, 2017 2:48 pm

It’s hard to strike a reasonable balance. On one hand, if these gentlemen are chased by the police, they’d have an even greater incentive to speed recklessly, mounting the pavements, etc. Just imagine a thief hitting a pushchair at speed because he was running away from a cop after stealing, say, a phone. Is recovering a phone worth the risk? Methinks not.

On the other hand, there have also been cases of thieves intentionally throwing away their helmets, so the cops wouldn’t chase them, after stealing motorcycles from dealers in the middle of the night, not in a city centre, i.e. in situations where chasing them would have probably been less risky for passers-by.

I honestly don’t know what the right answer is, but it’s not as straightforward as the headline-grabbing tabloids would like us to believe.
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NVHusband
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby NVHusband » Tue Jul 04, 2017 8:30 pm

Poor form MPS Wandsworth.

There is a surge in crime using mopeds and your response is an advertising campaign telling moped drivers to be more vigilant?! You also telling us to be more careful when we use our phone?! What next, blaming the victims?

Surely you should focus less on ad campaigns and more on crime prevention like visible policing? I appreciate police resources are stretched, but surely it comes down to simple priorities.

You can see the anger of the local residents who are tired of seeing blatant criminality on our streets. I have seen youths on 4 wheeler mopeds doing wheelies down the centre of Northcote Rd. This flagrant disregard of law & order eminates from a simple logic- they know they won't be caught. This did not happen by accident, but by the simple absence of law enforcement.
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MrsOctober
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby MrsOctober » Wed Jul 05, 2017 11:58 am

I reported 4 youths on 3 mopeds a couple of weeks ago, at 5pm on a weekday, speeding down Leathwaite Rd in close convoy. It was about 90degrees and they were wearing shorts, t-shirts and black ski masks. Just their eyes showing. I had registered with the 999 text service so I texted full details to the police. Within about a minute, I got a text back saying it had been circulated to the borough.
The 999 text service seems to work quite well. Text 'register' to 999, then follow instructions. It's especially good for when you don't want to tie up the 999 lines with something that you're not sure is a 999 or a 101 matter. In this case, no one was in immediate danger but I was fairly sure the police should know urgently.
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Motherslittlehelper
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby Motherslittlehelper » Mon Jul 10, 2017 8:16 am

I echo the comments about Wandsorth police - they are appalling.

Any crime I have reported is filed way and nothing is ever done (even when 8 houses in a row on our road had lead stolen from our roofs over 3 weeks). As for their policy of never stopping the myriad of drivers on their mobile phones, it makes for a very unsafe to cycle around.
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AlexH11
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Re: Beware-moped muggings in SW area.

Postby AlexH11 » Mon Jul 10, 2017 3:02 pm

This is all very concerning. I have witnessed two moped thefts recently; one on Clapham Common and one in Balham, near the Grove pub. Both times I called 101 and both times I was kept on hold for nearly 20 minutes before I could speak to someone. By which time, the thieves were obviously long gone. Hopeless!

The 999 text service sounds more efficient though. I will sign up to that!
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