Residents of Pinner and Hatch End have shared their fears and concerns after a series of phone snatchings in the area.
Social media has been inundated with stories and warnings following a significant increase in the crime, including on Bridge Street (pictured).
It has been noted that culprits have been using bikes and scooters to speed past residents and steal their phones.
Hatch End resident Stefano Cavallaro shared on a local Facebook group: “Please be careful at night. Yesterday I was waiting for my H12 bus in Pinner toward Hatch End around 10.30pm and a phone snatcher passed by and tried to steal my phone. Fortunately, I held it firmly in my hand.
“Apparently, I wasn’t the only ‘victim’, because two minutes later a girl came to me asking if someone on a bike tried to steal my phone too.”
Another Pinner resident said in a different Facebook group: “Sitting at the bus stop by the library yesterday at 8pm, a man on an electric bike drove onto the pavement and snatched a phone from a man sitting on the bench. Be safe.”
The resident explained their frustration to Pinnernews over advice to “not use our phones” rather than “something being done about it”.
Another resident shared their story, saying: “This week, a cyclist all completely covered up (including full face) was cycling up and down Bridge Street looking to snatch phones.
“Helpfully, other pedestrians were warning people when they could see the cyclist approaching and they were able to hide their phone.”
A Met Police spokesperson told Pinnernews: “We understand the impact that mobile phone theft can have on victims and we’re committed to protecting Londoners and tackling this issue.
“Met officers are targeting resources to hotspot areas with increased patrols and plain clothes officers which deter criminals and make officers more visibly available to members of the community.
“We continue to use data and technology to build intelligence and track stolen items to target offenders. We are also working with phone firms to ‘design out’ the ability for phones to be reused and sold on as we seek to dismantle the criminal market that fuels robbery and theft.
“We encourage people to report as soon as they can whenever they have been a victim of mobile phone theft, so officers can investigate swiftly.”
This comes after the Met Police confirmed that 230 people had been arrested in the first week of February, as part of a “clampdown on the industrial-scale crime of mobile phone-snatching”.
Photo credit: Roobineriksson
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