![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mandragoraI appreciate that this is the eternal teenage cry and that I should be well past this, but I'm feeling self-pitying here.
Today I went into town to meet fellow slasher J for lunch. Before meeting up I decided to visit bookshops Forbidden Planet and Murder One. At some point whilst walking along either New Oxford St and Charing Cross Rd some scumbag nicked my purse. Sigh.
Whoever it was got behind me, unzipped my backpack and took out my purse. I'd just been to the bank, too. I found out that the purse was gone when I was about to pay for some drinks for J and myself, got that sinking feeling when I realised that my backpack was unzipped, because I knew I'd done it up.
I think it happened whilst I was waiting for the traffic lights to change so I could cross over the junction. A bloke stood too close behind me, even though there was a gap at the side of me and it would have made more sense for him to stand there. I moved away from him, but (if it was him) probably not soon enough.
Now all this is bad enough, but, I was also mugged a few months ago. That was the full works, gang of 8 surrounding me when I was walking home from the train station after dark. I fought back (well, dammit, it was my stuff they were stealing!) but lost - not surprising considering the odds. Then, I lost my entire bag not just the purse.
But. Twice in one year. What is happening to this country?
I've never thought of myself as the victim type. Yes, I'm small but I walk fast and try to look confident, yet I've been hit on twice in almost as many months now. I'm fairly resilient, so haven't suffered any lasting effects from the mugging and still walk along the footpath where it happened on my way to and from work. However, I'm beginning to gain an inkling of why some people are living their lives in fear.
I decided to report the latest theft to the police and that was...interesting. When I was mugged as soon as I got home I reported it to the police and they arrived at my place within 20 minutes, which is pretty good going. I thought that they dealt with the situation as well as they could, recognising that the chance of catching the perpetrators was pretty much zero.
This time, obviously the situation was less serious but even so the response was less than satisfactory. I sat with J in a bookshop cafe and used my mobile to call directory enquiries for the relevant police station number. Clearly, the situation didn't warrant calling 999, so I wasn't about the clog up the emergency lines.
Directory enquiries attempted to give me the number of the City Police. I tried to explain that the City has a different police force from the rest of London, but the operator remained clueless. She quoted me a number over the phone that turned out to be some photocopying place and texted me the City Police's number. Sigh.
So, I rang the City Police in the hope they could give me the right number. They provided me with the number for West End Central police station, however when I rang them they directed me to another number in order to report the theft. When I rang that, there was a recorded message only suggesting that the best way to report it was online to the relevant police website, or leave a message and they'd get back to me. Fat lot of good that was.
When I got home I went online and recorded the theft, on the basis that I may as well add to the soaring crime statistics. I'm all for efficient use of the internet by public bodies etc, but sometimes you want a human being on the other end of the line. And this was one of those times.
That pickpockets are operating in Central London at present is well known - there was even an announcement to that effect on the tube this morning. But I didn't think they'd get me, thought I was street savvy enough not to be caught out. Clearly I was wrong.
As for the gangs of pickpockets, word is the latest are from Portugal and Romania and that they're sophisticated operators. The Romanians are easy to deport, the Portuguese, as EU citizens, less so. God forbid that I should ever have sympathy for the knee-jerk reactionary anti-immigration people (immigration as a whole benefits the population) and I do have sympathy for people from less wealthy countries. But. Don't you fucking come over here and steal from anyone who happens to be here. If you do, you deserve to be deported pronto.
Should also mention that the vast majority of Romanian or Portuguese citizens visiting or living in the UK are, of course, honest, law abiding people.
And on the plus side, lunch with J was very nice indeed. She was telling me about some of the latest official Trek novels, by LA Graf that sound very interesting and, as they're by LA Graf are heavy on the Sulu and Chekov interest - which I like. I'm looking forward to reading them.
Today I went into town to meet fellow slasher J for lunch. Before meeting up I decided to visit bookshops Forbidden Planet and Murder One. At some point whilst walking along either New Oxford St and Charing Cross Rd some scumbag nicked my purse. Sigh.
Whoever it was got behind me, unzipped my backpack and took out my purse. I'd just been to the bank, too. I found out that the purse was gone when I was about to pay for some drinks for J and myself, got that sinking feeling when I realised that my backpack was unzipped, because I knew I'd done it up.
I think it happened whilst I was waiting for the traffic lights to change so I could cross over the junction. A bloke stood too close behind me, even though there was a gap at the side of me and it would have made more sense for him to stand there. I moved away from him, but (if it was him) probably not soon enough.
Now all this is bad enough, but, I was also mugged a few months ago. That was the full works, gang of 8 surrounding me when I was walking home from the train station after dark. I fought back (well, dammit, it was my stuff they were stealing!) but lost - not surprising considering the odds. Then, I lost my entire bag not just the purse.
But. Twice in one year. What is happening to this country?
I've never thought of myself as the victim type. Yes, I'm small but I walk fast and try to look confident, yet I've been hit on twice in almost as many months now. I'm fairly resilient, so haven't suffered any lasting effects from the mugging and still walk along the footpath where it happened on my way to and from work. However, I'm beginning to gain an inkling of why some people are living their lives in fear.
I decided to report the latest theft to the police and that was...interesting. When I was mugged as soon as I got home I reported it to the police and they arrived at my place within 20 minutes, which is pretty good going. I thought that they dealt with the situation as well as they could, recognising that the chance of catching the perpetrators was pretty much zero.
This time, obviously the situation was less serious but even so the response was less than satisfactory. I sat with J in a bookshop cafe and used my mobile to call directory enquiries for the relevant police station number. Clearly, the situation didn't warrant calling 999, so I wasn't about the clog up the emergency lines.
Directory enquiries attempted to give me the number of the City Police. I tried to explain that the City has a different police force from the rest of London, but the operator remained clueless. She quoted me a number over the phone that turned out to be some photocopying place and texted me the City Police's number. Sigh.
So, I rang the City Police in the hope they could give me the right number. They provided me with the number for West End Central police station, however when I rang them they directed me to another number in order to report the theft. When I rang that, there was a recorded message only suggesting that the best way to report it was online to the relevant police website, or leave a message and they'd get back to me. Fat lot of good that was.
When I got home I went online and recorded the theft, on the basis that I may as well add to the soaring crime statistics. I'm all for efficient use of the internet by public bodies etc, but sometimes you want a human being on the other end of the line. And this was one of those times.
That pickpockets are operating in Central London at present is well known - there was even an announcement to that effect on the tube this morning. But I didn't think they'd get me, thought I was street savvy enough not to be caught out. Clearly I was wrong.
As for the gangs of pickpockets, word is the latest are from Portugal and Romania and that they're sophisticated operators. The Romanians are easy to deport, the Portuguese, as EU citizens, less so. God forbid that I should ever have sympathy for the knee-jerk reactionary anti-immigration people (immigration as a whole benefits the population) and I do have sympathy for people from less wealthy countries. But. Don't you fucking come over here and steal from anyone who happens to be here. If you do, you deserve to be deported pronto.
Should also mention that the vast majority of Romanian or Portuguese citizens visiting or living in the UK are, of course, honest, law abiding people.
And on the plus side, lunch with J was very nice indeed. She was telling me about some of the latest official Trek novels, by LA Graf that sound very interesting and, as they're by LA Graf are heavy on the Sulu and Chekov interest - which I like. I'm looking forward to reading them.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Bastards
Isn't it odd how *everything* seems to assume that you will have internet access or a mobile phone? Even the police!! And only ten years ago only geeks at university were there. These days, well, I know more people without computers at home than with, and not all of those are online. The last choice made available is to speak to a real person, or to write a letter now.
Oh well.
At least you had fun on the train ;-)
Temaris
Re: Bastards
Date: 3 September 2002 13:23 (UTC)Re internet access, thinking about it pretty much everyone I know has access, which experience obviously differs from yours. Interesting. Not everyone I know has a computer at home, although all who do are online. However, pretty much everyone has work and/or home email access. In fact, I can think of only one friend who doesn't have an email account, but her husband does at work.
It's become the way we all arrange our social lives - send round an email and see who's interested in coming along etc. I have to say that it's a damn sight easier than ringing round 15 or so people. But it doesn't *replace* social interaction, rather it facilitates it. But this only works if everyone has access, obviously. And I'd still rather ring a company/public service up and speak to someone then and there rather than send an email and wait for an answer.
Apparently 5 million children aged under 16 in the UK have internet access at present (according to tonight's edition of 'Watchdog', which had a feature on porn spam being sent to kids' email addresses) so the numbers are definitely up.
On the mobile phone front, well doesn't *everyone* have one nowadays...? ;D The actual figure for the UK is something like 50%, and apparently the people who don't have them tend to be the very young (pre-pubescent children) and the very old. There aren't many adults and teenagers who don't have them. Suppose that's why it's assumed you have one, because you probably do...
no subject
Date: 5 September 2002 06:49 (UTC)This sucks totally - and 'why me?' post is absolulely in order. I had my purse stolen from inside my handbag in my office and the very anonymity of theft leaves you without much recourse. Coming so soon after being mugged is devastating. :(
(Am back from hols and just thought I'd check your LJ before emailing.)