Is London really that bad now?

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Very happily married.

Yes of course London was better in the olden days, like when Jack The Ripper was about and then when everyone got bombed in the war.

Anna1223

Only the rough areas that have a lot of immigrants from Africa. The West end felt quite safe when I was there the other day.

Carrie S

For the average person in London - nothing has changed. If you're involved in drugs and gangs and are a youth who hangs about on the street then yes, things have got worse.

probablygraham

I was born in London. It is a huge city and statistically more people die in accidents than by being stabbed.
Just avoid trouble areas, but that's always been the case in London.

CLIVE H

All major cities in he world have potential danger and London is no exception.

No, London is not as bad as the press and media are making out. It is true that there have been 20 teen stabbings resulting in deaths on our streets so far this year. But let's be realistic and set this against the pop of London which is in the region of 7.8million. Also think of the annual death toll on our UK roads of about 3,000 - kind of puts it into the picture.

People should stop trying to see London through a telescope backwards and get real. New York is far more dangerous than London ever will be and that's not a joke. But don't let me stop you going there. Chances of getting stabbed in London or anywhere else are very remote indeed.

I'm not saying we don't have a problem, we do, but it is being dealt with by community leaders, kids groups and teens themselves. Somehow we will muddle through which we usually do when we put our minds to something.

The latest idea is to make knife carriers visit the wounded in hospital.

Personally I think this is a silly idea - it has not worked in the States, so why should it work here?

Teens who carry knives do so because they feel threatened. I'm a pensioner aged 67, I don't carry a knife because I do not feel threatened and don't think anyone will attack me. If it's money they want, I'm the last person to rob - I never have more than about ВЈ10 cash on me and don't have any cards either.

Yet strange as it may seem, my age group, the pensioners, have actually got more asbos than the teens. So who are the real bad guys then? Pensioners or teens? You are much more likely to get a bad mouth from me than a kid and that's a promise.

In any case, I've seen it all, starting with the London Blitz as a child - nothing worries me any more, not after that.

I love London and I love the people here. We are all totally bonkers. Must be to live in this mad-house.

Ari Mikkola

Just spent two days there ~ I felt safe.
London didn't feel any better or worse than when I lived there 15 years ago

Nikki B

it does happen more often nowadays but i wouldnt say London has generally gone downhill.

carina

London is still nice ... if you take the amount of serious crime against the number of people who live here, it's a very very small proportion

Tony

i got out of london and moved to cornwall after 37 years....london is a dump...the air is disgusting, the pavements are filthy and there is an air of depression hanging over it like a bad cloud....people who live there cannot see this but when you remove yourself from it you realise just how bad it really is.....In cornwall, the air is immaculate, the food produce is second to none and the people are so friendly where strangers wish you 'Good Morning' , i have never experienced this before in my life!!!!
I had 37 years of london...and i will never set foot in it again!!!

King of London

London is the same its just murders of young people has increased dramatically from 6 teenagers killed in 2006 to 27 in 2007 and so far this year 20 so i suspect it would reach nearly 40 by December then who knows next year 80 otherwise violent crime and robbery is the thing to watch out for which London is full off the rate of these crimes are very high but as for murder not so much its just the ages of these victims which are getting alot of media coverage
http://www.capitalradio.co.uk/article.asp?id=532062
http://www.capitalradio.co.uk/Article.asp?id=592174

But London boroughs like Lambeth, Southwark, Hackney, Newham, Brent, Enfield, Waltham Forest and Haringey only get worser
Hackney borough gun crime capital of the country
Lambeth & Southwark boroughs murder rate capitals of the country

It has got worse over the last ten years, without any doubt.

London is a dump compared to other European cities. Anyone that says London is 'the greatest city' clearly hasn't been very far from home.
It is dirty, smelly, crime ridden (you are 6 times more likely to be a victim of violent crime in London than New York), the transport system is unreliable and over crowded, it is full of poverty.
True that the media are focussing on the knife crime, but they are not making these stabbings up - they are really happening. There were always fights etc in London, but the issue of people carrying guns and knives is a relatively new one.

Londoners keep convincing each other that it is like this in every big city, but as someone who has travelled a lot, I can assure you this is wrong. Thankfully I got out of London.

BRENT P

It seems to be problematic in certain suburbs. As long as you are careful where you go, I don't think that it is particularly any worse than it was 30 years ago when i used to go down as a youngster.

the_1_and_onli

Quite a lot of these stabbings are gang related, so don't worry if you are visiting :)

Geoff

London is as nice or even nicer now, if you know where to go.
Nowhere in the world is completely safe.
Stabbings are gang or drug related. If you are not invovled in this the chance is remote.
It is the assualt of the media and press that is really bad.
Your perception of reality is easily damaged.

k_l_k_l

Hmm i hope not since im about to move there for 3 years for uni, i think though that most of the stabbing and so on does occur in secluded 'bad' neighbourhoods.

help: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080709144339AAv16V1&r=w

Niki

It's as bad as city with 8 million people living in it.
And most of the stabbings are gang related, so .. don't get involved with gangs.
And most of this happens in poorer areas, which as a tourist you aren't likely to go visit.
And i doubt it's any less dangerous than any American city.
And there are still nice posh bits of london,
Yes there are prettier parts of the UK ,
but it's ok for a big city.

And there have always been nasty stuffs going on, like jack the ripper, the interesting parts of London's history :P
Just like anywhere else ..

Daisyhill

It's always been bad...and good...dont forget that the media LOVE to make a drama out of things...that is what sells newspapers.

Rachel

No way,

I was born there, and I go back every summer to see my family.
It's just the same as normal.
There is no chaos, just as much as there is here, maybe less.

froggequene

As someone has pointed out in response to a previous similar question, there are about 8 million people living in London - yes there is crime but not an ongoing constant barrage of stabbing & assault, if there was the whole place would grind to a halt & we'd all be running for the hills. Everyone looks backwards with rose tinted spectacles, it doesn't necessarily mean that things were better. We're constantly bombarded by information, we have dedicated 24 hour news channels, papers which constantly update & reprint new editions throughout the day & immediate access to information through the internet. Nothing happens without it being reported but it isn't necessarily a reflection of how things actually are.

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