Sam,
I am somewhat well-travelled - and have lived considerable stretches in some
of the highest crime cities in America and overseas. But there are some
"high crime" cities in America I would rather walk through at 1 a.m. than
say; Deeside (N Wales), areas like Bradford, Salford, Manchester - and
Lambeth in SE London, at a similar hour or later.
I am sure there are many New Yorkers who haven't ever seen a street assault
in their whole life, as there are I am sure in LA, Detroit, St. Louis or
Houston - just as there are in London. But SE London is really getting a
name for itself in this regard - and street crime is getting up there.
But I would give anyone similar advice visiting any major city in the world.
The only reason I brought it up here is that the illusion of "very low crime
in europe - especially the U.K." still persists these days. But burglary and
car theft is higher today in N Wales where I lived for many years during the
1970s and 1980s - than it is in many "high crime" areas here in the United
States.
Best advice in all cases is: do not get taken by surprize - and generally
speaking, that is often sufficient.
Cheers,
Lee
----Original Message Follows----
From: Sam Shiell <sam.shiell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [OM] re: potential London trip forthcoming [- crime]
OK, I'll bite.
<snip>
.....London - especially south east London - is Crime Capital U.K. I would
keep valuables in a plastic shopping bag.......
</snip>
Good grief don't frighten the lad - have you had a bad experience in
London yourself? Yes it's true that the crime figures are high in
comparison to the rest of the land and it obviously pays to take care of
your valuables but in all the nearly-50 years that I've lived here (did
I say "50 years".... must be a typing error!) I've never had any
problems, and I regularly wander around the city with my camera and
other valuables dangling from my shoulder.
It's a sad fact of the world that most, if not all major cities are full
of "undesirables" that mean we have to be vigilant but in comparison to some
cities I could mention London's still pretty safe if your sensible.
Of course I could just be a teenie bit biased here!
Sam
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