7 ms·

I live in London and I can tell you no, it isn't mostly made up. The crime rates in other places is irrelevant if the city you've lived in for the last 20 year

by indy 1y ago

I live in London and I can tell you no, it isn't mostly made up. The crime rates in other places is irrelevant if the city you've lived in for the last 20 years has become noticeably more dangerous. This is not "a narrative that keeps being pushed without merit", in fact the people who dismiss such claims are often the ones who live very insulated lives.

piva00 1y ago
It's also quite sad there isn't anyone with a big political voice connecting the dots between Brexit and the rise in crime. Brexit has markedly made the UK's economy weaker, there are less opportunities, the opportunities that exist outside of finance/tech are quite low paid compared to other European countries while the cost of living in London is absurdly high when compared to other major European cities. It's the perfect storm coupled with high immigration: blame immigrants for the lack of opportunities caused by a policy pushed by anti-immigration rhetoric, it will just feed into giving power to Reform which, if given power, will continue to crash the UK's economical prospects. The ship has sailed, it will take the UK quite a while to correct course, perhaps even a generation or so... While that correction course happens British society will just keep eroding away.
- miroljub 1y ago
  It is Brexit, but not how you think it. What Brexit did is basically reducing immigration from the culturally and societally compatible EU countries with the immigration from the ex colonies and other third world places.
- indy 1y ago
  It's become a feedback loop of "crime", "erosion of trust", "polarisation of communities".
foldr 1y ago
I haven’t personally noticed London getting any more dangerous over the past 10 years that I’ve lived here.
- johnisgood 1y ago
  You need to go out there, then. There are areas where people do drugs openly, and overdosing, too, and no one cares. A cop walked past a lady overdosing. You should watch videos of YouTubers going to these areas if you do not want to do it yourself. The areas are famous for tourists where most phone snatching is rampant, 18 a day at a minimum, on one famous street alone. FWIW, I am talking about London.
  - foldr 1y ago
    I’m just honestly reporting my personal experience. Why would I want to deliberately go to a dangerous area that I have no reason to go to? Is that normal behavior for people who live in large cities? People doing drugs isn’t a danger to me.
    - johnisgood 1y ago
      It isn't, but the crimes do not happen only in these areas. Crimes (like phone, expensive items in a bag snatching) happen in rich areas, too.[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0 [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0&t=1794s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0&t=1794s
      - foldr 1y ago
        I know that there is a lot of media reporting of knife crime and phone theft. However, I am contributing my personal experience to the thread. You could search YouTube for videos of people complaining about crime in any major city. This is a popular trope that gets a lot of views and engagement.
        johnisgood 1y ago
        The point is that it happens not only in particularly shit areas of London, it happens in rich areas too, or where there are lots of tourists, areas that are supposed to be safe, but they are not. And UK is doing fuck-all about it, they care more about who said what online. It is absurd. As for your personal experience, sure, that is valid. It really depends on when you go out or what you are wearing.
vidarh 1y ago
I live in London too, and don't recognise these claims at all. I've been here 25 years, and most of the areas that used to be sketchy are now not.
- indy 1y ago
  Which areas are you familiar with? I witnessed the aftermath of a murder last week in Stoke Newington! (Saw that the road had been closed off) I've seen women publicly urinating into drains on a busy road (Hackney) There are massive increases in the number of homeless people (Tooting, Clapton, Shadwell), several times I've seen a homeless looking person harass women passing by. Seen needles lying around (Shadwell, Commercial Road) The general advice now is never to wear a watch in Central London, this wasn't the case 10 years ago. I've seen security guards restrain people trying to leave shops in Central London after they shoplifted. So yeah, some areas might not look sketchy, and these gentrified places (e.g. Stoke Newington) might be ok if you stick to the bars, restaurants and then Uber home, but for a lot of people these remain dangerous if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  - vidarh 1y ago
    I've literally spent hours walking around Shadwell and Commercial Road over the last couple of months, as well as places like Bow, Canning Town, Forest Gate, Romford that used to be awful. I've lived in Croydon most of the last 25 years. I'm also not seeing any more homeless in London now than I used to see on Oxford Street when I lived by Marble Arch in 2000, for example. There were large encampments in the subways near Marble Arch at that time - I've not seen anything like it since. > The general advice now is never to wear a watch in Central London, this wasn't the case 10 years ago. Says who? I've never heard anyone say this, and don't know anyone who'd worry about wearing a watch in Central London.
    - johnisgood 1y ago
      > Phone snatching in Central London has become a significant issue, with the Metropolitan Police reporting around 80,000 phones stolen last year, primarily by organized criminal gangs. To combat this, police have increased visibility and implemented operations to deter theft, particularly in hotspot areas. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/26/mobile-phone-theft-europe-uk-police https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/26/mobile-ph... If you do not like The Guardian, search for "central london phone snatching".
jama211 1y ago
The stats don’t show that it has become worse overall though. You have to cherry pick stats to make it look bad, which the media does because it generates outrage. Careful what you consume.

by indy 1y ago

piva00 1y ago

It's also quite sad there isn't anyone with a big political voice connecting the dots between Brexit and the rise in crime. Brexit has markedly made the UK's economy weaker, there are less opportunities, the opportunities that exist outside of finance/tech are quite low paid compared to other European countries while the cost of living in London is absurdly high when compared to other major European cities. It's the perfect storm coupled with high immigration: blame immigrants for the lack of opportunities caused by a policy pushed by anti-immigration rhetoric, it will just feed into giving power to Reform which, if given power, will continue to crash the UK's economical prospects. The ship has sailed, it will take the UK quite a while to correct course, perhaps even a generation or so... While that correction course happens British society will just keep eroding away.

miroljub 1y ago
It is Brexit, but not how you think it. What Brexit did is basically reducing immigration from the culturally and societally compatible EU countries with the immigration from the ex colonies and other third world places.
indy 1y ago
It's become a feedback loop of "crime", "erosion of trust", "polarisation of communities".

foldr 1y ago

I haven’t personally noticed London getting any more dangerous over the past 10 years that I’ve lived here.

johnisgood 1y ago
You need to go out there, then. There are areas where people do drugs openly, and overdosing, too, and no one cares. A cop walked past a lady overdosing. You should watch videos of YouTubers going to these areas if you do not want to do it yourself. The areas are famous for tourists where most phone snatching is rampant, 18 a day at a minimum, on one famous street alone. FWIW, I am talking about London.
- foldr 1y ago
  I’m just honestly reporting my personal experience. Why would I want to deliberately go to a dangerous area that I have no reason to go to? Is that normal behavior for people who live in large cities? People doing drugs isn’t a danger to me.
  - johnisgood 1y ago
    It isn't, but the crimes do not happen only in these areas. Crimes (like phone, expensive items in a bag snatching) happen in rich areas, too.[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0 [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0&t=1794s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP6tygFIQq0&t=1794s
    - foldr 1y ago
      I know that there is a lot of media reporting of knife crime and phone theft. However, I am contributing my personal experience to the thread. You could search YouTube for videos of people complaining about crime in any major city. This is a popular trope that gets a lot of views and engagement.
      - johnisgood 1y ago
        The point is that it happens not only in particularly shit areas of London, it happens in rich areas too, or where there are lots of tourists, areas that are supposed to be safe, but they are not. And UK is doing fuck-all about it, they care more about who said what online. It is absurd. As for your personal experience, sure, that is valid. It really depends on when you go out or what you are wearing.

vidarh 1y ago

I live in London too, and don't recognise these claims at all. I've been here 25 years, and most of the areas that used to be sketchy are now not.

indy 1y ago
Which areas are you familiar with? I witnessed the aftermath of a murder last week in Stoke Newington! (Saw that the road had been closed off) I've seen women publicly urinating into drains on a busy road (Hackney) There are massive increases in the number of homeless people (Tooting, Clapton, Shadwell), several times I've seen a homeless looking person harass women passing by. Seen needles lying around (Shadwell, Commercial Road) The general advice now is never to wear a watch in Central London, this wasn't the case 10 years ago. I've seen security guards restrain people trying to leave shops in Central London after they shoplifted. So yeah, some areas might not look sketchy, and these gentrified places (e.g. Stoke Newington) might be ok if you stick to the bars, restaurants and then Uber home, but for a lot of people these remain dangerous if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- vidarh 1y ago
  I've literally spent hours walking around Shadwell and Commercial Road over the last couple of months, as well as places like Bow, Canning Town, Forest Gate, Romford that used to be awful. I've lived in Croydon most of the last 25 years. I'm also not seeing any more homeless in London now than I used to see on Oxford Street when I lived by Marble Arch in 2000, for example. There were large encampments in the subways near Marble Arch at that time - I've not seen anything like it since. > The general advice now is never to wear a watch in Central London, this wasn't the case 10 years ago. Says who? I've never heard anyone say this, and don't know anyone who'd worry about wearing a watch in Central London.
  - johnisgood 1y ago
    > Phone snatching in Central London has become a significant issue, with the Metropolitan Police reporting around 80,000 phones stolen last year, primarily by organized criminal gangs. To combat this, police have increased visibility and implemented operations to deter theft, particularly in hotspot areas. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/26/mobile-phone-theft-europe-uk-police https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/26/mobile-ph... If you do not like The Guardian, search for "central london phone snatching".

jama211 1y ago

The stats don’t show that it has become worse overall though. You have to cherry pick stats to make it look bad, which the media does because it generates outrage. Careful what you consume.