London is now plagued by rampant theft. A male student from Taiwan studying in the UK recently posted online that a theft had occurred in his residential compound, with three thieves stealing bicycles and mobile phones. Two of them were eventually cornered by residents, but after the police arrived, they let them go.
Faced with deteriorating public safety, the student has become increasingly jumpy, now instinctively staying on high alert whenever he sees anyone wearing a mask or approaching on a bicycle or e-scooter.
The student took to the social media platform Threads to voice his concerns, saying that London's public safety has worsened over the past few years. He mentioned that some of his friends had been robbed three or four times within a single year, and recently, a real-life chase unfolded right outside his front door.
"To be honest, I was pretty shocked. I had always thought that London City Island was relatively safe compared to other parts of London, but recently there have been increasing reports of phone snatches, bag snatches, and bicycle thefts," he wrote.
Recalling the incident, the student said the three thieves were caught red-handed and chased down by residents.
"Three people were stealing bicycles, and I heard they also stole a mobile phone. Once discovered, the ringleader bolted without looking back, leaving behind two accomplices, both around 14 or 15 years old, who ran frantically across the entire London City Island. Residents gave chase, and passers-by who saw what was happening also joined in to help corner them. Those two kids were really agile and tried to escape several times. In the end, it took nearly ten people working together to pin them down finally."
However, the police response was disappointing. "I thought at least they'd been caught today, but I heard that after the police arrived, they let them go. Yes, let them go!" he said. "They just tell you to fill out a form, and nothing ever comes of it."
He lamented, "Now I'm super on edge whenever I walk down the street. If I see anyone in a mask or approaching on a bike or e-scooter, I instinctively become vigilant."
One netizen who had previously been robbed shared a traumatic experience.
"I had my phone snatched in broad daylight in London by someone on an e-bike wearing a mask. After that, it felt like PTSD—I now automatically view every passer-by as a potential robber." Another wrote, "I also had my phone stolen in London before. There were two thieves, and passers-by helped catch one of them, who was under 16. But after waiting three hours for the police, they simply didn't show up, citing that the incident was not an emergency."
Many netizens criticized the police's handling of the situation, "The police and even civil servants in London are truly useless." "Prisons don't have enough space to house offenders either. Even if the police bring suspects to court, judges are likely to hand down non-custodial sentences. So the police might just give up and release the offenders because of that."
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