A Reminder To Protect From Theft

While in this area crime levels remain low in comparison to other parts of the capital, there has been a recent rise in theft incidents across central London.

The theft of phones by e-scooter, bikes and moped riders, usually targeting victims standing at road crossings or walking along the pavement, has increased across the capital. In addition to this, pickpocketing and table surfing incidents – where distraction techniques are used to steal the valuables of customers seated at venues – have also been reported locally.

By working together, we can help to prevent these crimes and protect you and your valuables. Our Street Team patrols the area seven days a week, keeping an eye out for suspicious behaviour and acting as an effective deterrent for crime. They work with local businesses, sharing advice from the Police to help raise awareness amongst staff and customers. This is part of our wider crime prevention work which includes our security WhatsApp group that enables local security personnel and teams to share real-time information and issue alerts across the area, and we also recently rolled out a new intelligence sharing platform – ‘Alert’ – to provide useful intelligence and evidence packages to the local Police team and other key agencies to support them in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, delivered in partnership with Safer Business Network.

If you or a colleague sees anyone acting unusually, experiences or witnesses incidents of theft, please do report it to the Police as well as our Street Team, who can then target their monitoring where it is needed and enable us build a picture of hotspot locations so that security can be increased in those areas. Contact the Street Team here if you have concerns or you would like them to visit your business.

In addition to this, here are just a few of the ways that you can help to protect yourselves:

• Be aware of your surroundings and only use your mobile when it feels safe to, and when you’ve finished using it, put it away. Avoid texting while walking and if you need to make a call, consider going hands-free to prevent thieves from snatching your phone from your hand.
• Plan your route when travelling to a new destination or venue to avoid needing to check your phone for directions. Appear confident and look like you know where you are going.
• Be aware of your belongings at all times – keep purses and bags closed, carry them in front of you and avoid hanging them on the back of chairs when in restaurants and cafes.
• Don’t leave your phone/device or personal belongings unattended, out of your sight, or left on a table. Thieves can strike and be on their way within seconds.

Further information from the Police on how to stay safe and prevent personal theft is available here.

Remember to always report crime to the Police.  In an emergency dial 999 and in a non-emergency 101, or you can report crime using the Met Police’s online form here. Online reports of crime are dealt with the same way as those reported over the phone.