6.45 yesterday evening.
My main anxiety about this whole spate of muggings is that the culprits if not caught more onto another area nearby.
I lived in Notting Hill for many years and this was certainly the case there.
I am always mindful not to wander around oblivious on my phone however when I did get mugged in my old neighbourhood in broad daylight at 4pm 3 guys just walked past then one of them ran at me from behind grabbing the strap of my bag dragging me to the ground and along the road until i let go.
Sometimes against a group of youths no matter how aware we are a lone woman or man does not strand a chance-especially if the muggers are driving mopeds.
Unfortunately we desperately need more street policing wether this is on foot or drive round patrols.
obviously street lighting is a huge issue- but again both these things boil down to money.
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Just to be clear, based on when you posted this and your pic earlier in the thread, are you saying that people shouldn’t be carrying or using their phones while walking in a residential street in broad daylight?
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Not at all. I’m saying be aware of your surroundings.
The responsibility for robberies is with the criminal not the victim.
But we can all be more vigilant and take precautions to prevent crime.
SgtBiddle
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I agree.
More patrols are a good thing but I have limited resources.
It’s about us all working together to prevent crime.
SgtBiddle
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I with you on that!
I thought I’d caught one of them yesterday.
I was driving over the hill at Perry Vale and I noticed a hoodie going down the postman’s trolley, which was parked-up outside the Prince of Wales pub. So I stopped my van in the middle of the road (sorry about that) and jumped out shouting WHAT THE FLIPPING HELL ARE YOU DOING! (may have actually sworn in there somewhere). So the hoodie looked up and said, “Can I help you?” at which point I saw the red collar of his Post Office shirt. So I had to apologise and explain that I thought I was apprehending one of the skanky gang who’d been causing all this aggravation in the area. Must admit, I did feel a bit stupid - but a little “thank you” from the postman helped me get over the embarrassment.
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No offense but daytime patrols do nothing. This happens at night and we need patrols at night. Period.
The quality of CCTV images against masked youths in poor lightning will do nothing except give you a video of you being chased out of the CCTV’s view.
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Hi Dave, thought I would answer your email question here as it’s topical.
You ask, ‘did I think I was mugged because I was carrying a phone?’
Difficult to say. It felt to me like it was going to be a warning off beating rather than mugging as I had spotted them acting suspiciously near a house, hence why I flatly refused to stop when they asked me to. Plus, when they finally did corner me and demanded something, it was for a wallet rather than phone. Having said that, when I first walked past them, they would no doubt have seen the tell tale headphones (yup, guilty…) that do rather broadcast the fact there’s a phone on you.
Carrying and using a phone on the go is now a given, it’s more how careful we are with them which is clearly the issue Sgt. Biddle raises. However, if you’re someone who fits these idiots’ mugging profile and have valuables demanded from you with violence, it doesn’t matter where you keep them, they will never be safe enough.
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Thanks everyone for sharing experiences here. It’s obviously so important for us all to be vigilant and aware of our surroundings, particularly after dark. But I just wanted to add something a bit more positive on here - I have walked through this alley twice a day everyday for two years, many many times after dark and have never felt uncomfortable at all. I’ve never seen anyone loitering there and have actually commented on this to people before. As alleyways go it’s quite wide, the bushes are small and it is lit (although obviously the lighting can always be improved).
This is not to undermine the horrible experiences people have been through at all. I just don’t want people to feel disproportionately scared of this particular alleyway and let it put them off living or walking through our area. Muggings are an awful occurance and can happen anywhere.
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Just walked back tonight via cut through into Shipman / Trilby Road. Never seen it so quiet. So sad as fear has clearly taken control. You can’t even walk via S Circular as muggings have occurred on Colfe.
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Not necessarily, Raul. As a few of us have said that regularly use it, that alleyway has always been very quiet. But wouldn’t be at all surprised if people have decided to give the roads around here a wide berth after a certain time at night until we begin to hear some positive news from the police regarding the spate of robberies.
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The other thing about being on the phone or having headphones in, beyond the signal of having something worth mugging for, is what an easy target we might look - not hearing or paying attention to what’s going on around us.
I do this more often than I should, get all the way home and realise I’ve not got a clue what my journey was like, buried deep in a text or something.
It’s easy to do in cars too, casually listening to the radio on autopilot - we all hear that the most common accidents are on frequently driven routes.
I agree of course that the criminal is the one in the wrong, but just keeping an ear and eyes out to what’s happening around us is good advice.
The bonus is we might also appreciate our general surroundings more - stopping to smell the roses, by which I mean spotting funny shops names or random cats that we can post here…j
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My team have been out and I checked overnight crimes this morning. No further robberies reported.
We’re not taking our eye off the ball…
Z
SgtBiddle
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Morning #PerryVale.
Just checked the overnight reported crimes.
No robberies reported!
#OpPosterBoy
#SgtBiddle. 
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Dear Perry Vale,
As I promised I’ve now spoken via email to the head of CCTV at the Council.
I’m told that they have looked at placing CCTV here in the past but there is nowhere to install a camera.
We will continue to patrol both in plain clothes and in uniform.
Please keep us updated with any developments that we miss.
SgtBiddle
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Thanks for asking. Did they give any details as ‘nowhere to install it’ just sounds like a bit of a vague answer tbh?
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I’m afraid not.
I looked at lighting too and the lights are fairly new.
Do you think the trees and bushes being cut back might help?
Can I suggest you contact the council/your councillor re any suggestion you might have? We work in partnership with them and value their support in this.
SgtBiddle
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That’s frustrating. A CCTV camera at the Sunderland Road entrance looking down the alley surely shouldn’t be that difficult to install? High up on the side wall of the flats would be ideal, giving good coverage of the majority of the alleyway. Anyway, very happy to contact both as you suggest.
Re the bushes and trees, I was speaking to someone this week who wanted them cut back, and if it will help create extra visibility, especially at the Shipman end, then yes, let’s get it done.
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CCTV can be installed on it’s own pole… doesn’t need to be put on a wall… and there’s plenty of space to put a pole up.
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I find this a little hard to believe. I can think of plenty of places plus the ones mentioned above. Are we sure this doesn’t mean that there’s nowhere to install a camera WITHIN the alley? Surely one placed just outside looking down into it, or even on the bend of Trilby and Shipman will surely show who’s coming in and out of the Alley?