Teenagers mugged for phones

[VMiller]

Has anyone had problems with their children being followed to and from school, etc?

[PeckhamRose]

Look around the forum for such other topics and discussions.

There are quite a few.

I am sorry if this has happened to you / your kids.

(Edited for spelling...)

[LDo]

Dear VMiller

This happened to my daughter a couple of months ago. Please PM me.

[Jeremy]

Why don't you just insist that your kid had the most basic 5 yr old phone, then surely nobody would want to steal it.

[lozzyloz]

Because they'll nick the more expensive ipod instead!

Seriously though, my eldest has been robbed like this on a few occasions too. Mostly around Forest Hill but once in Herne Hill too. It's a fact of life in a city for boys between the ages of 12 and 16. As a result he's learnt to anticipate a potentially dangerous situation and think twice about what he carries and where. It's hardly worth reporting to the police and in one incident where the police did get involved (because a friends house was robbed) we had 10 threatening youths aged 14 to 20 on our doorstep.

[LDo]

My 14yr old daughter and her friend were victims of such a robbery (see previous thread - attempted mugging on Hansler Road.) Initially I didn't phone the police as I was of the opinion they wouldn't do anything. On the contrary, their response was prompt, and efficient. The two girls responsible were arrested and admitted everything,(along with a whole load of stuff carried out on other people.) The case went to court and they were found guilty. I was kept fully informed throughout the investigation.

The event was very distressing at the time and fortunately my daughter has not been permanently traumatised. As a result she has become more streetwise and aware of potentially dangerous situations.

I'm not saying that every incident like this has a positive outcome but nevertheless I would at least give the police a chance to do their job.

[DaveR]

The police also store every complaint they receive and collate intelligence on prolific offenders, which informs stop and search decisions, for example. The more info they get, the more likely there will eventually be an arrest and prosecution.

[lozzyloz]

When your boy lives in an area where every teenage boy effectively belongs to a gang by default it's not quite that simple to go to the police. The last thing some kid wants to do over the theft of a mob, is to be seen co-operating with the police. There are other ways to settle the score or avoid being a victim. It's not the right way but it's the way it is sometimes.

[LDo]

Point taken but when your child is physically assaulted it puts a different slant on what you are prepared to tolerate. The police were very discreet and I am relieved that the girls responsible are no longer causing similar harassment to others.

[redrouge]

My 14 year old brother is being followed a lot, has had bikes and phones, even his coat stolen on MANY occasions. The police have done nothing, despite it happenning again and again on his commute to school and back. He even knows who the culprits are, but the police won't do anything...

[chichirara]

My daughter and her two friends were followed and asked for their phones on Tuesday. they said no and the boys said they had a knife, They still said no as they reckoned the boys were bluffing. The boys ran off! Even if you were to hand over a 5 year old phone it still leaves them shaken and victimised and encourages the muggers to do it again. I reported the incident to police for the very reason some one else said, so that the police can build up a picture of what is happening to young people all to frequently

[bawdy-nan]

I've seen two instances of young teenage boys being attacked or mugged. The first was at Peckham Rye railway station - boy got on, very upset - he' just been mugged by other boys.

The second time was at the intersection of goodrich road and crystal palace road. I was walking home from nursery with my son (then a baby) and daughter, then about 3. We came across a young teenage boy being attacked by 3 others. Noone was about but I couldn't just walk past - he was being punched and kicked and was cleraly in trouble. I didnt have my phone with me otherwise I would have called the police. As it was, I was a bit nervous, but kept back a little and just shouted and shouted at them to stop (hoping someone might come out of a house - they didn't). Eventually they backed off and I waited until they went away completely. I offered to walk home with the boy but he was very shaken and, I think, humiliated.

I felt very bad for the boy - (I think thats the mum in me). He was at the age when they go all kind of gangly and uncorodinated - old and young at the same time. I can't imagine what it must be like to be that age and to have your freedom curtailed by fear of attack.

I have to say that I am very concerned for my own children, not so much now, but as they approach their teens. I know that there are dangers and risks all over the place and all over the country but I do think that in London its much worse.

One of the mst horrible outcomes of this instance was having to explain to my daughter what had been going on. I explained that the boys were bullies - but for a long time she thought all young black men were bullies (why are the bin men giving a lift to a bully, etc). Partly that's because we don't come across any teenagers at all really, which is a real shame. They get beaten up, blamed, mugged and misrepresented.

[spc]

A friend's son was robbed of his bike and phone, by two older boys a couple of weeks ago, the police were very good. One of the two muggers was arrested within three days and is awaiting his day in court on remand. The system does work sometimes (but maybe not enough).

[Asset]

yes well, as I was blithering on in the other thread, do they need a phone? They can hardly use it to call for help once it's been taxed can they?

Maybe we could all give our kids our old phones when we upgrade and then at least they've got something to hand over.

[????]

If we cut their hands off they'd find it harder to use a phone

[SteveT]

Stop being a flake ????, they should castrate too, so their genes cannot infect others;-)

[debs]

Yes my daughter and her friend(aged15) were followed off the bus at Nero's and followed home by 2 girls. They stole her friends phone and pushed them about a bit. As this took place in our front garden they were absolutely terrified to report it as the girls know where they live!! These girls are regularly around Grove Vale and Lordship Lane, They've been pointed out to me!! They even had the nerve to wave to my daughter the other day! they obviously feel untouchable.

I spoke to the local police at the last fair on Goose Green and they gave me their mobile to call when I see them.They are aware of them but all the kids are too scared to report it Unfortunately I havent seen them since!

There's 3 of them in this gang, all girls aged 15-16 yrs.. One African who's about 5'2 and quite fat, a tall skinny mixed race and a small mouthy asian. They seem to wear mostley black but the asian girl has a khaki coat too

[Keef]

Obviously we can't go vigilante, but can I suggest that should anyone see these girls, (after alerting the authorities) they point at them and start laughing at the fat one.

[lynxse]

Yes, it is a major probelm in East Dulwich but nothing we can do about it as we have such a liberal bunch of councillors who won't get tough! So, we will just have to put up with it.