Like any city, London has got its issues with crime. Council housing, which houses families that are in need of financial assistance, are often accused of being crime hotbed. In a bid to avoid creating a gangland area, the Government has seek to distribute council housing all over London. As a result of which, there's always a low level of anti-social behaviour throughout the city. Only the very upclass area are being spared.
Police
You wouldn't find police at every junction like New York. However, there's a much higher police presence over here as compared to Singapore. Also, unlike Singapore's police, UK police patrol the streets without a gun but always with a bulletproof vest. It's curious though... they don't shoot but they expect themselves to be shot at. Whereas back home, the police shoots but don't expect themselves to be shoot at.
Anyway, the rationale of not carrying a gun is simple: criminals should not see the point of carrying a gun if the police aren't carrying any. No firearms involve in arrests, no one gets hurt. But then again, criminals would want an upper hand, wouldn't they?
There is however, a police firearms unit, specially trained to handle guns. They will be mobilized if the need arises.
In order to boost the police ranks with a reducing budget, more Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) are recruited. It takes a fraction of the time to train a police officer to do the same for a PCSO. Their effectiveness, however, remains to be seen. They can be differentiated by the different wordings on their police vests.
Once you set foot into Central London, you might be surprised (shocked rather) at the high frequency of police sirens. It's not uncommon to encounter at least twice on a daily basis. After a while, it becomes part of the background noise and I assure you that you wouldn't even look up when a police siren sounds.
One thing to note, however, is that chases involving police patrol cars happens quite frequently as well. The police will not hesitate to overtake any vehicles or even drive on the opposite side of the road when sounding the siren. So... do check out traffic from both directions before crossing a road should you hear a police siren. There had been complaints by the public with regards to the issue of dangerous driving by the police. But so far, situation is not getting any better.
On the Streets
Generally speaking, London is a safe city... unless you do something stupid. Singaporeans, naive as we are, have a tendency to do just that. The following is just some things.
1) Wondering into dark streets in the middle of the night is a big no. Not in the day as well. Just do not walk into dark and narrow streets alone, ever.
2) No waving of large wads of cash around. I know that the colours and denominations may seem foreign to you but hey, that's not an excuse! You never know who might just be looking.
3) Don't be tempted by 'cheap' deals. Especially from unauthorised outlets or worse still, just from a person on the street. That's our greatest weakness. If it seems like too good a deal, it probably is.
4) Don't get into a staring incident. There are some incidents back home when gang members are beaten to death outside pubs. Over in London, we're talking about ordinary people hurt by knives and guns. Although still low by European standards, death by guns is on the rise here.
Residential
A 'good' residential area is often safer. If you can see police patrolling in pairs, it's good news. If police patrols consist of 4 men team, chances are that you wouldn't want to be where the police don't feel safe in pairs.
I've heard of houses being broken into because a laptop is in plain sight. So please draw the curtains when you're out and keep valuables out of sight if you're residing on ground floor or basement.
You may consider getting some form of possession insurance if you need that extra bit of assurance.
Police
You wouldn't find police at every junction like New York. However, there's a much higher police presence over here as compared to Singapore. Also, unlike Singapore's police, UK police patrol the streets without a gun but always with a bulletproof vest. It's curious though... they don't shoot but they expect themselves to be shot at. Whereas back home, the police shoots but don't expect themselves to be shoot at.
Anyway, the rationale of not carrying a gun is simple: criminals should not see the point of carrying a gun if the police aren't carrying any. No firearms involve in arrests, no one gets hurt. But then again, criminals would want an upper hand, wouldn't they?
There is however, a police firearms unit, specially trained to handle guns. They will be mobilized if the need arises.
In order to boost the police ranks with a reducing budget, more Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) are recruited. It takes a fraction of the time to train a police officer to do the same for a PCSO. Their effectiveness, however, remains to be seen. They can be differentiated by the different wordings on their police vests.
Once you set foot into Central London, you might be surprised (shocked rather) at the high frequency of police sirens. It's not uncommon to encounter at least twice on a daily basis. After a while, it becomes part of the background noise and I assure you that you wouldn't even look up when a police siren sounds.
One thing to note, however, is that chases involving police patrol cars happens quite frequently as well. The police will not hesitate to overtake any vehicles or even drive on the opposite side of the road when sounding the siren. So... do check out traffic from both directions before crossing a road should you hear a police siren. There had been complaints by the public with regards to the issue of dangerous driving by the police. But so far, situation is not getting any better.
On the Streets
Generally speaking, London is a safe city... unless you do something stupid. Singaporeans, naive as we are, have a tendency to do just that. The following is just some things.
1) Wondering into dark streets in the middle of the night is a big no. Not in the day as well. Just do not walk into dark and narrow streets alone, ever.
2) No waving of large wads of cash around. I know that the colours and denominations may seem foreign to you but hey, that's not an excuse! You never know who might just be looking.
3) Don't be tempted by 'cheap' deals. Especially from unauthorised outlets or worse still, just from a person on the street. That's our greatest weakness. If it seems like too good a deal, it probably is.
4) Don't get into a staring incident. There are some incidents back home when gang members are beaten to death outside pubs. Over in London, we're talking about ordinary people hurt by knives and guns. Although still low by European standards, death by guns is on the rise here.
Residential
A 'good' residential area is often safer. If you can see police patrolling in pairs, it's good news. If police patrols consist of 4 men team, chances are that you wouldn't want to be where the police don't feel safe in pairs.
I've heard of houses being broken into because a laptop is in plain sight. So please draw the curtains when you're out and keep valuables out of sight if you're residing on ground floor or basement.
You may consider getting some form of possession insurance if you need that extra bit of assurance.
0 Response to "How safe is London?"