Safety in London
moove2london on 07 Oct 2009We’ve had a couple of queries recently from young people, as well as some parents who are worried about the safety aspects of moving to London.
It’s worth remembering that crime can happen in any area of the country or world, but of course you do need to be extra careful when you’re out and about in London. People can live in London for many years of their life, without experiencing crime, but others are less fortunate. Hopefully the information in this post, will help ensure that you remain one of the luckier ones.
Safety on the streets
Here are some good rules to follow:
1. Don’t talk on your mobile phone unless absolutely necessary – doing so is an open advertisement to thieves.
2. Don’t walk through parks by yourself – try and stick to well-lit busy streets.
3. Some people advise against wearing hoods, as they can be grabbed from behind, knocking you backwards.
4.Phone ahead to your destination so that they know what time to expect you. If possible describe the route that you will take, so that someone will know roughly where you are.
5. Plug the number of a reputable cab firm into your phone. Don’t use unlicensed minicabs off the street. If you text HOME to 60835, you’ll receive a text with numbers for 1 local taxi driver and 2 local minicab firms in the area you’re texting from.
6. If you are unlucky enough to be attacked for your bag/wallet/phone, hand over whatever your attacker wants and don’t fight them.
7. If you are walking late at night, try and carry your keys in your hand. This serves the purpose of looking as if you are nearly at home/at your car, and also could be used as a weapon in an absolute emergency.
8. Take some self-defence classes – contact your local gym or community centre for details of such courses.
9. Avoid listening to music when walking along a quiet street – this will stop you from hearing potential attackers running behind you.
Specific advice for women
1. Always carry a personal alarm when you are out at night. Look at www.suzylamplugh.org for different types.
2. Learn how to use your personal alarm before you go out. An attacker will not give you chance to read through your instruction booklet.
3. Plug the number of a reputable cab firm into your phone. A good directory is www.ladycab.com who only list lady drivers.
Students in London
The Safer Students site which is an initiative set up by West Midlands Police, has an lot of extremely relevant information and advice that can be applied to ALL students in the UK, regardless of where you are studying.
Public Transport
Walking around on the street isn’t the only time that you will need to keep your wits about you.
Although everybody whinges about packed tube or train carriages during rush hours– there are times of the day when almost the entire train will be empty. If you are sat on a tube or train carriage by yourself late at night, then you might be at risk.
When boarding a tube or train, try and sit in the vicinity of other people. Use your instincts to choose who to sit near to. If you feel unsure about a person/people then avoid them.
On a tube or train, always find out where the passenger alarm is located so that if you find yourself in trouble you are able to have immediate contact with the driver to alert him of the situation.
Drink-spiking
Unfortunately there is always a risk when you are out drinking in a pub or club (in ANY part of the world) that you may have your drink spiked. To prevent this horrific experience from occurring:-
1. Never leave your drink unattended, and make sure that you watch the bar person carefully when they are making your drink, to ensure that nothing is slipped in it.
2. Never accept a drink from a stranger or from someone you don’t trust.
3. If you think that your drink tastes strange, then under no circumstances should you continue to drink it. Report it to the bar manager immediately.
4. Check out www.drinkspikedetector.com for drink spike detector cards and tops to fit on top of your alcopops and beers making them extremely difficult to spike.
5. UPDATE: Check out www.2lovemylips.co.uk who have produced a lip gloss that acts as a spiked drink detector at the same time.
London is a fantastic place to live, so long as you take care of yourself and trust your instincts, so please don’t be put off!
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