Tourist hot spot blasted for 'normalizing theft' with phone-snatching awareness campaign

A run that debuted successful London this summertime is facing backlash, with some residents and visitors criticizing officials for failing to tackle transgression problems head-on.

The "Mind the Grab" inaugural aims to rise consciousness of wide telephone theft on the city’s iconic Oxford Street buying district.

Bold purple chalk signs connected the borderline of the sidewalks say, "Mind the Grab," and "Step backmost from the Kerb! Phone snatching blistery spot."

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The Westminster Council and Metropolitan Police Service person partnered with Currys, the U.K.’s largest tech retailer, to punctual pedestrians of thefts connected mopeds oregon e-bikes on engaged streets. 

Since it launched, the run has sparked an progressive effect online, with locals and tourists taking to societal media to dependable beardown opinions.

Social media users person been blasting London's "Mind the Grab" initiative. (Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

One Instagram idiosyncratic posted a video detailing the run and wrote, "London’s telling america to fell our phones alternatively of stopping the thieves. Who should truly beryllium held accountable?"

In the "r/ukpolitics" forum connected Reddit, 1 idiosyncratic said, "We are normalizing theft."

Said another, "Slowly drifting toward the ubiquitous third-world ‘pickpockets run successful this area’ – patronizing absolution of authorities work wherever it matters, coupled with a lukewarm clasp wherever unwanted."

A antithetic Redditor said, "It’s fundamentally London authorities refusing to really tackle it and trying to enactment the blasted connected radical who usage their telephone successful the halfway of London."

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"I went to Paris successful 2022 [and] 2023, and I noticed the signaling ‘beware of pickpockets’ arsenic soon arsenic I got connected the train," wrote different user.

An X idiosyncratic responded to a station captioned, "What’s preventing you from visiting London?" by answering with the comment, "The stabbings and ‘Mind the grab.’"

Bold purple chalk signs connected the borderline of the sidewalks read, "Mind the Grab" and "Step backmost from the Kerb! Phone snatching blistery spot." (Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)

"Instead of catching the vocation criminals down telephone thefts, authorities blamed victims with a ‘Mind the Grab’ purple enactment down Oxford St.," said different X post.

Last month, the Metropolitan Police busted an planetary pack suspected of smuggling astir 40,000 compartment phones from the U.K. to China, The Associated Press reported.

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It is believed that much than fractional of the phones were taken successful London.

"London’s telling america to fell our phones alternatively of stopping the thieves," said 1 idiosyncratic connected societal media.  (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Over 115,000 mobile phones were stolen crossed London successful 2023, according to Metropolitan Police data.

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Natasha Evans, constabulary pb superintendent successful Westminster, said successful an August property merchandise that "officers are relentlessly pursuing transgression gangs intent connected committing robbery and telephone theft."

"Officers are relentlessly pursuing transgression gangs."

She added, "We person accrued patrols successful blistery spot areas to place and deter perpetrators — and robbery has [been] reduced by 20% successful the West End since April."

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London remains a fashionable tourer attraction, drafting immoderate 21 cardinal visitors successful caller years, with astir 3.6 cardinal "overnight visits" coming from North America, according to the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics.