Security info

There is a current spate of these robberies in London.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/09/police-in-london-consider-tougher-tactics-against-moped-gangs

Your husband should call the police (111 - non emergency number) and report what he saw.

Non emergency number for the police is 101, 111 is the NHS number.

oops

thanks for the correction.

That Guardian article is very troubling. We spent 3 weeks in London last May with kids and grandchildren and felt very safe. But this makes me wonder how safe I would feel walking around the streets now.

What is shown in the video is exactly what my husband witnessed. We are not going to use our cell phones on the street for the remainder of our time in London. It's really not worth getting hurt over.

But this makes me wonder how safe I would feel walking around the
streets now.

The thieves are targeting pedestrians walking on the sidewalks while using their phones. They're after the phones. There's a really simple fix for that. Don't do that. And pay attention to your surroundings (which shouldn't need to be stated nearly as often as it is, but too many people seem to forget to pack their common sense when on vacation.)

Snatching phones from people's hands, generally outside inner suburban stations is common.

I'd say common is overstating it. More common than other sorts of crimes but definitely uncommon by any absolute metric.

My husband was in the special forces during the Vietnam war and doesn't get spooked easily. Being in a foreign country makes us feel more vulnerable I guess, because my husband was pretty shook up after he saw the (we assume-- mobile phone) theft. We decided not to openly use our cell-phones on the street. That makes US feel more comfortable even if a huge phone theft ring isn't operating in London.
BTW: My husband was physically assaulted by a man on drugs in our hotel corridor in a sleepy little seaside town in our home-state of Oregon. Sadly, I guess you just need to be a little more cautious everywhere now-a-days.

Thanks for bring this to our attention. I had heard nothing of this. I am going to London first time this fall and will be even more careful about cell phone use when out and about. I don't typically walk down the street with my phone in hand but do pull it out to use as a camera. I'll certainly be looking around me before doing so.

Going to London in September and will feel VERY safe walking around day or night.

Good to know. Will be very cautious when using phones.

And especially DO NOT use a theft proof bag.

What is a theft proof bag?

the snatching of mobile phones(not involving mopeds)is a pretty
regular occurance outside of a number of tube/train stations in some
areas of London, and has been for a long time.

Which tube stations do you mean? Where should we be particularly aware?

What is a theft proof bag?
Some folks like to have bags that have a steel cable incorporated into the strap. The theory is that the villains will use a knife or equivalent to cut the strap of the bag then grab and run or just grab and run hoping the strap breaks. The steel reinforced strap keeps the strap from breaking so that it stays attached to your body when the Vespa crook grabs your bag.

I'm glad to see someone warning about those theft proof bags. I bought a small one several years ago, used it on one trip, but never again. The bag snatch scenario is exactly why. I know it's reassuring that a thief can't sneak up in a crowd and cut your bag strap - because there's a steel cable in it.

But more important to me, is that if a thief - who is statistically likely to be larger, younger, and stronger, than me - makes a strong grab to yank the bag from me, a steel-cable-strap will not give. What will give is my body. I don't own a damned thing that's worth my having a broken shoulder, arm, leg, collarbone - or neck. I'd consider carrying a bag that had cut-proof netting in the body if the strap weren't also made of cut-proof material.

Man, if somebody wants my bag so bad they'll charge at me on a moped, they can have it. If I'm traveling, my passport and at least one each debit and credit cards aren't going to be in it anyway.

Maybe I feel so strongly about this because a long time ago, my mom was mugged at a shopping center. She instinctively grabbed on tight to her handbag and resisted him, and the kid finally gave up and ran away. But she was knocked to the ground and pretty well banged up in the encounter. She wasn't elderly and frail but she was well past middle age and not very strong. I was young and it made a big impression on me. In my opinion, there was nothing in that handbag that was worth her being injured.

I agree with you Suz. I don't bring anything of value when I travel but we must bring our passport, credit card/s and some cash. I put all of those things in a neck pouch next to my body but even still if a thief wants them s/he can have them. They can all be replaced. As someone who broke both arms, my foot and my nose on an accidental fall on a concrete sidewalk I can only imagine what could happen from being forcefully thrown to the ground. My fall was 5+ years, and 2 surgeries ago and I am still not back to my old self. Possessions are NOT worth the risk. Let a thief have them.