‘I was an easy target’: Londoners reflect on muggings and phone theft

Last year 18,000 muggings went unsolved in the UK, that’s just under 50 a day. Londoners react to that statistic and share their own experiences.

Transcript

00:00In London, 18,000 muggings or phone slashings happen every year that go unresolved, so that's about 50 a day.

00:09First of all, what's your reaction to that and how do you think people can stop that from happening?

00:14It's terrible having had my own mobile phone stolen and it took so much time to sort out.

00:22It's very irritating and for some people it's their whole life because they have their business bank card on there

00:28and all their contacts and everything, so their life stops, doesn't it, pretty much for some people.

00:34I actually broke my shoulder and I was at Victoria and it was my own fault because I'd left my handbag slightly unzipped

00:42and I think someone must have just thought, oh, she's broken her arm, she's got her arm in a sling.

00:46I was an evil target, I guess.

00:48Is there something wrong with our law enforcement?

00:52What do you think could be done to tackle it?

00:54More police, more police on the streets and greater severity of punishment.

01:02It's quite frustrating because I haven't had it happen to me, but I know of a couple of friends that it's happened.

01:08It's quite unfair. You feel quite vulnerable. I am just much more aware.

01:15Where is my phone? Am I holding it? Is it not on show?

01:21It's not anything that you really can protect yourself on because it is actually people on either a motorbike or anything really fast,

01:32so there's not even any way of catching them.

01:36I reported it to the police and luckily I had insurance so I could play.

01:41They did send me a phone quite quickly actually, but it was just a real faff having to sort through it all.

01:51It's awful and it feels awful when it happens, doesn't it? You really do feel like you've been mugged.