I was mugged on East Dulwich Grove -8:35pm 11.01.11

[SeanMacGabhann]

eh? where's that come from?

[murphy]

East Dulwich is generally very safe, I don't think there is an alarming rise in muggings but two in a couple of days within a 100 yards or so of each other, it's no doubt just an unfortunate coincidence, but it's worth mentioning.

[ianr]

I wouldn't be surprised if there was also a copy-cat or group membership element to these mini-spates, with kids following on from, or trying to keep up with, each other.

[damzel]

TJ Wrote:

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> if you own an iphone 4 make sure you switch on the

> 'find my iphone' feature so you can disable it if

> they pinch it.

>

> http://www.apple.com/iphone/find-my-iphone-setup/

Thanks. didnt know about that.

Jess-ED - thanks for passing on your experience - I for one appreciate hearing about these things as I do tend to become complacent "won't happen to me, never been a victim" blah blah and hearing about these things reminds me to err on the side of caution.

[Dorothy]

Sorry this has happened to you and thanks for posting Jess.

[EDmummy]

Jess-ED, I am so very sorry to hear about your nasty experience. I hope you are recovering well.

I am not sure where you heard about talking on your phone as being safe but we might all find it useful to have a look at this website here. Another tactic I follow is walking on one side of the road for a period of time before crossing over to the opposite side. By doing this you can figure out if someone is following you.

I recently spoke to one of our community police officers (PC Crust) after my neighbour was mugged and he said that he was not aware of any increase in this type of crime in ED but that, as always, we should practice personal safety techniques wherever we are in London.

We should all make ourselves less of a target and keep vigilant.

[ClareC]

Jess- ED

Glad you are OK. It's a horrible thing to happen and really does shake you up, it happened to me in Camberwell about 4 years ago. I felt jumpy for a while afterwards but it does go away, and hopefully makes you safer as you become more aware. Thanks for letting us know, it's handy to prevent complacency!!

Ironically I actually was suspicious / didn't like the look of the guy that did it to me before the event. He was on a pushbike coming towards me and I purposely moved right over on the pavement so he couldn't get alongside me - he cycled passed, turned round and came from behind when I wasn't being cautious a bit further down the road! The police were great, drove me about looking for him - although apparantly they wear layers of clothes so they can simply strip the top layer off and change their clothing description in seconds!

Definitely trust your instincts!! I crossed over on a dark part of Goodrich Road about 5pm one night last week because I didn't like the look of a chap coming towards me - dawdling from side to side apparantly on the phone in heavy rain, just didn't seem right........ Would like to think that as I had a pushchair with my (nearly) 1 year old daughter in and am fairly obviously pregnant with number 2 that he wasn't dodgy at all but you never know!

Make's no difference if your phone is sought after or not - they can't see the phone, just take it anyway on the chance it is worth having. Scum!

[minder]

Wondered what the aircraft was the other night! It was after 10.30 and I thought it was some kind of army aircraft as it was different to helicopter noise - it was very loud and completely shook the whole area!

We're in North Dulwich by the way.

Sorry to hear what it was for and also for Jess.

[Ladymuck]

Sorry to hear another tale like this on here. I'm pleased you weren't hurt though. At the end of a day, it's just a phone.

Hope you aren't too shaken up.

[karter]

Sorry to read about this yet again, hope you are ok, iphone 4 is a great phone, hopefuly you can claim on insurance.

[LadyDeliah]

Sounds horrible. Just wanted to clarify something though. Is mugging the same as robbery? With violence? For some reason I seem to think that being mugged involved being beaten up or threatened or something like that. I always thought that if someone steals something like this it's called a snatch rather than a mugging. Am I getting mixed up?

[p_glover]

James Barber Wrote:

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> I'd be slighlty cautious about what a Police

> officer tells you without knowing their

> provinence.

> If they're a member of the local Safer

> Nieghbourhood Team then they will know if this

> type of crime is on the rise at that location.

> If it is from a member of the rapid response cars

> then they're probably generalising for the whole

> borough.

I would think that it would have been the robbery squad that attended to Jess in this case. Believe they work out of East Dulwich police Station. If they say it is increasing in the area I would believe them. I think even if it was a member of the rapid response cars who informed her they would also be up to date with this type of crime and wouldn't just be making general statements as you suggest. Why would they compare crime in say " Elephant and Castle area to East Dulwich area".

As a councillor I would expect your support for the police and what they say and tell us other than your general sweeping above statement about rapid response officers.

Jess

Sorry for the above rant at the councillor but i assume you were dealt with in a proffessional manner by the police.

stay safe.

[eucalyptus]

I used to think that walking and talking on a phone at the same time was safer - but how and why?? - so someone miles away knows the precise time you were robbed and can do nothing about it?? It is in fact incredibly stupid to walk alone at night flagrantly displaying an expensive piece of equipment. It shouldn't be of course, but this is a fact - criminals exist. So don't do it. And make sure you can disable our phone.

[Weegee]

TJ Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> if you own an iphone 4 make sure you switch on the

> 'find my iphone' feature so you can disable it if

> they pinch it.

>

> http://www.apple.com/iphone/find-my-iphone-setup/

That's great to know...Im downloading this now.

[jacklemon]

Lady D, robbery is the combination of theft and assault. No force is needed, just the putting a person in fear of force. Mugging is simply robbery in public but isn't an offence in English Law as far as I know. This situation would have been robbery due to the force used when taking the phone from Jess' hand.

Jess, sorry to hear this happened to you. Thanks for letting people know. People may remember this thread when walking home in the dark and may be just a little more cautious.

[Jeremy]

Really sorry to hear about the robbery, but if there's one positive which can come out of this, perhaps people will realise that walking around talking on your phone really isn't a good idea. You wouldn't walk down a quiet road, on your own, in the dark, waving ?400 around! And you should be alert and aware of your surroundings, which is impossible to do while talking on the phone.

Whether the problem is getting worse is irrelevant IMO - it's always been a problem, and always will be. Don't make yourself a target.

[Craftygirl]

How awful for you. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

[Mick Mac]

Jess - what did he want the iphone4 ?

[Pearson]

^i like what you did there

[Alex K]

Jess, I've learnt from your posting, and from the thread. I regret your loss and thank you for making it into something from which people like me can learn.

[nozchik]

2 of my female friends had been mugged and beaten violently on Goose green end of Oglander road an hour ago. 2 white teenagers attacked them and got there bags and hit them with there legs. Please Colpester road residents look out for brown bag in your gardens and bins for us please.

D.

[Jess-ED]

Terribly sorry to hear about your friends - I hope they are okay.

I have just spoken to a police officer who informed me that there a couple of drugs dens in Melbourne grove...the police suspect junkies attach people in the East Dulwich area so that they can then exchange for drugs in the nearby location.

[ClareC]

Jess-ED Wrote:

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> Terribly sorry to hear about your friends - I hope

> they are okay.

>

> I have just spoken to a police officer who

> informed me that there a couple of drugs dens in

> Melbourne grove...the police suspect junkies

> attach people in the East Dulwich area so that

> they can then exchange for drugs in the nearby

> location.

Does this mean they will be raided and closed down?

[Jess-ED]

I have no idea - but to share that information with me seems to suggest its well known...

[nozchik]

Thank you there ok now, but bruised badly. we looked for a bag but nothing so far.

D