safety in London

Weak policing - what weak policing?

Did these "two recent travelers" have actual problems? What were they?

Yes, if they are at a dance venue and have several drinks and leave their iPod on the table while they are on the dance floor it may not be there when they return. Who's fault is that?

We need much more detail.

I am in and out of London all hours of the day and night. I take reasonable precautions just as I would in any large city, or even a small town like Raleigh.

As many times as we've been to London, we have NEVER felt unsafe. Of course we do live outside Washington, DC where there seems to be at least one shooting everyday. For heaven's sake, just use common sense just like Nigel said !!

If you look at something like The Economist's ranking of Safe Cities, London comes in at 12 out of 50 for personal safety, somewhat above all of those those in the USA (Washington, San Francisco, Chicago, LA, New York). There are though some maybe unexpected assessments, in particular Brussels and Rome are below all those listed above, plus the likes of Johannesburg and Mexico City.

Thanks. The complaints didn't sound right to me either, but as I said, it has been five years since I've been there. Upon asking, it seems that one of the ladies referred to got caught up in some sort of street "demonstration" that frightened her!

We call that free speech.

Free speech and freedom of assembly. Demonstrations are a weekly fact of life where I live.

Although if it is a 'march' rather than static it needs to be pre-notified, so can be avoided by checking the list of police events.

For a while I worked in an office on Petty France, just down the road from what was then the Home Office. Protests outside there most weeks, often noisy. The ones with singing were worse than those shouting, especially if they were opera-style.

For Don's question -- does this person live in /spend time in a major urban area? "Safety" is often relative to what you expect at home.

To get back to the original question...."What I have been told by two recent travelers is that London has become far less safe at night".

One should exercise caution in any large city at night, but especially if one has been out partying and drinking. It doesn't matter what city you are in. If you are on the streets late at night, tipsy, you have made yourself a target for crime, period. A person should be aware of their surroundings at all times on the street at night. If you are sober, you have a fair chance of getting away from someone who approaches you to do you harm.

Early in the evening in London, I see no danger in walking back to a hotel from the theatre or a restaurant. Whenever in doubt, take a cab back to your hotel.

As far as blaming "migrants from third world countries" for crime, that seems racist. Can these people give any reference to specific incidents or newspaper articles in the British press confirming this?

It would probably have helped to have greater information on the background of the "recent travelers". If they have not traveled much in big cities whether we're talking, London, NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, or Berlin, it really doesn't matter. From what I've read, Chicago is likely the scariest from the statistics point of view, but again if you stick to the Loop and the north side--and probably some areas that I don't know about as it's been too long since I lived there--you would feel fine. But if you've not been in these cities, or seen a demonstration before, it can be scary. When I worked in Midtown East, we had demonstrations near the UN ALL the time. You just learned to walk around them. The only ones that were annoying were the constant protests at the Egyptian Consulate a half block from my apartment. They had a megaphone permit. Sigh.

No disrespect but your "recent travelers" seem a bit naive and sheltered from the reality of the world and visiting any large urban area. I'm also put off by their sentiments regarding immigration and crime. Sounds like FOX news lovers.
I'll be returning to London for my 13th visit later this year. Staying nearly a month and renting an apartment in an ethnically diverse area of London. I have no fear or concern. I'm 64 so I've witnessed immigration here and abroad. The world changes. That's what makes it interesting. In brutal honesty I'd be more concerned about my safety in downtown Los Angeles or Washington D.C. late at night than London ANY day of the week.

"due to large migration from 3d World countries"

This phenomenon of course translate's to person's fleeing their homeland because they are in fear for their safety. Welcome to the world-it is still in flux, however 3rd world migrant does not equate to dangerous criminal. There's lots of regular white guys causing plenty of mayhem, in particular the home grown terrorists right here in the United States. You can find trouble for yourself almost anywhere. Your friends need to go to London, clearly ;-)

I offer this perspective, from Calais, France, where they are challenged by a similar situation, and these people don't strike me as muggers and rapists:

http://www.dw.com/en/france-brigitte-hero-of-calais/av-18267937

We are just back for four nights in London in May. Didn't feel any different than our first visit 43 years ago. One night after a late dinner we walked about two miles back to our hotel and thinking that we knew the area we walked on the diagonal rather than following a couple main streets. We got a little lost. We did hit some streets where we were the only folks walking. A little spooky and probably should have stuck to the main streets with people and traffic. But didn't see or feel anything threatening.

Don,

It's been a few years since I was last in London, but I never perceived any "safety issues" there, regardless of the immigrant population. Like most cities in the world (and Vancouver is no exception), there are certain areas that one should not venture, especially at night. I tend to stay in the Victoria Station / Belgravia area and have never had any concerns walking there at night.

Did these "two recent travellers" have Confederate flags on their luggage ??

When my partner and I were in London last year, we saw a fistfight (I'm loosely using the term) in front of a bar in Bloomsbury, one of the most genteel neighborhoods in the city. It was really just two guys yelling at each other and trying to hit each other with little success.
5 minutes later, the police pulled up. We couldn't believe it. Silly fights are a near-daily occurrence in our neighborhood. The police for slapping?
Rest your fears, fellow traveler.

We were there last summer, walked home from pubs around 11:30 or so, never felt unsafe.
I think the ladies in question may have issues we shouldn't delve into too deeply here, like fear of different colored skins perhaps,, they aren't voting for Trump are they? 😁

I was in London for a few days and felt very safe even when the Austerity march was going on. I am a mom with an 11 year old son and we walked the area near the London Eye at around 9ish with no qualms. I live in the Orlando Florida area and I am more afraid being in the attraction area here than I was in all of England.