Fagin Goes Hi-Tech

Gangs are recruiting children to go out to steal smartphones before they head to school, using Snapchat to offer rewards of up to £380 for the latest Apple iPhones, police have revealed. The Metropolitan police said they were deploying new resources including drones and Surron ebikes to chase suspects as they step up their fight against phone snatching.

‘Gotta pick a pocket or two’ needs upgrading - today’s artful dodgers ride e-bikes and don’t fear the beadle… 

Gangs are using Snapchat to advertise a menu of cash rewards for different models of stolen mobile phones, enticing children as young as 14 on bikes to act as thieves.

Well, of course they do, what did you think would happen when youth offenders were treated leniently? 

Once phones are stolen, child thieves message a “handler” on Snapchat to arrange a drop-off. Bonuses of an extra £100 are offered if 10 or more stolen phones are handed over in one drop. In one recent case, police said a teenager was heading out on a bike early in the morning to attack commuters around a main London transport hub before heading to school.

If only he'd show that much enthusiasm for lessons... 

Rowley said the courts could do more to help by stopping bailing repeat offenders. In one recent case, police said a group of 12 youths were arrested and charged with phone thefts. The next day some were bailed, and within 24 hours of their arrest they were suspected of being back stealing phones.

Which is why no doubtr so many of your officers can't be bothered anymore. 

The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said his administration was pumping in an extra £4.5m for a new command centre.

Which won't be a success because it'll be infested with the sort of people who have these attitudes:  

An ad for Transport for London’s new ‘Act Like a Friend’ campaign has been banned for reinforcing negative stereotypes about black men.The Facebook ad, part of the campaign that encourages people to intervene safely if they witness sexual harassment or hate crime on the TfL network, showed a black male verbally harassing a young girl accompanied by a white male friend, who sat down close to the victim ‘boxing her in’. A viewer complained that the ad was irresponsible, harmful and offensive for perpetuating negative racial stereotypes about black teenage boys.

Whats that TS Elliot line again? Oh yes. "Humankind cannot bear very much reality"

I'm Not Seeing Any Sign Of It, Sadly....

...but then we all know they are inveterate liars, don't we? 

Racial and religious hate crime on public transport is on the rise according to new data obtained by the Guardian, as community groups report how people are restricting their daily journeys because they fear abuse or assault.

Courtney was travelling by train out of Glasgow city centre in August this year when an elderly woman boarded the carriage and sat opposite.“I didn’t think anything of it, I had my earphones in and was just choosing music,” says Courtney.

A black woman playing music with her earphones on? This tale starts out unlikely, and forges ahead into the even unlikelier... 

“Out of nowhere, she began making racist remarks, which got progressively louder after she put on a face mask. I stayed quiet because I was genuinely taken aback, you never expect that kind of hostility from a stranger.”

Throwing a bit of cloth over your mouth increases volume, eh? I never knew that! 

Like many twentysomethings, Courtney vlogs parts of her day for TikTok. “But what prompted me to start recording was when she took out a Dettol disinfectant spray and sprayed it in my direction. At that point, I felt I needed to document what was happening for my own safety.”

Are you allergic to antiseptic then?  

The woman eventually moved seats but continued to verbally harass Courtney, telling her: “Go back to your own country.” At this point, some fellow passengers stepped in to support her.

 And then the entire carriage tood up and gave her a standing ovation, I suppose? 

Akeela Ahmed, the chief executive of the British Muslim Trust, said the data echoes the stories her organisation are picking up all over the country and calls on local authorities, transport operators and community safety partners “to take urgent and meaningful action” 

 Such as? We don't find out, probably because there aren't any that come to mind.

“For visible Muslims in particular, the top deck of a bus or a half-empty train carriage can mean threatening behaviour, verbal abuse or even violent attack simply because of their faith,” said Ahmed. Attacks on public transport reported to the trust are “some of the most complex and distressing cases we have handled to date,” she adds. “Many Muslims now feel compelled to micro-analyse every movement, expression or gesture out of fear that it may be misinterpreted, recorded and weaponised against them.”

 Really? Doesn't seem to have inhibited the ones all over my social media feeds who never lose an opportunity to whine about Israel and how oppressed they are by being rexpected to obey the UK laws everyone else has to obey...

Dave Rich, the head of policy at the Community Safety Trust, said: “Although these figures are for all racial and religious hate crime on public transport, it is telling that the recent increase over the past two years aligns with the rise in antisemitic hate crime since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October of that year. This is an ongoing problem that shows no signs of abating and it is vital that police, the CPS and transport operators are doing everything they can to catch and prosecute perpetrators of this hatred.”

Thsnk you for reminding us who has a legiimate complaint, Dave.  

Commuters Wondering Why Black Fare Evaders In London Do So With Complete Confidence They Won't Be Challenged...

...wonder no longer:

A Metropolitan Police officer acquitted of grabbing a woman’s arm and arresting her for fare evasion is still facing the sack over his “use of force”.PC Perry Lathwood, 51, had initially been found guilty of common assault at Westminster Magistrates’ Court over the incident in Whitehorse Road, Croydon, south London on July 21, 2023. At Southwark Crown Court last September, his appeal against the conviction and £1,500 fine was upheld.PC Lathwood – who remains on restricted duties – will now face a two-day gross misconduct hearing starting on October 13.

What was his 'crime'? 

A notice of the disciplinary alleges he “detained the female, used force against her, engaged in conversation using inappropriate language and arrested her”.

Ah, so he did his job (rare these days), which was backing up TfL fare evasion teams running an operation (also rare these days), when they are challenged or when commuters refuse to answer to them as this woman did. 

It is claimed his conduct also breached standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect, courtesy and equality and diversity.

The final bit is clearly what has prompted action by the thoroughly-captured ptrogressive Met Police. He was insufficiently respectful of a black woman, and treated her in the same manner he would no doubt have treated a white or brown woman. 

Independent Office for Police Conduct regional director Mel Palmer, who led the investigation, added: “This was a high-profile incident that caused significant concern, particularly in the Croydon community, after footage of the incident was published online.”

The only 'community' this would have caused 'concern' for is the community that believes laws and social obligations like paying the fares everyone else pays don't apply to them.  And it's about time we stopped trying to appease them. 

Who’s Driving Our Tubes?

As many as 300 London Underground staff are at risk of being deported after changes to immigration rules, it is feared.

And the Union is furious. No, Reader, not at the fact that these immigrants have taken jobs from British workers, of course not! 

More than 100 union activists, led by Mr Dempsey, mounted a protest outside the Home Office on Wednesday morning. MPs John McDonnell and Zarah Sultana also attended the demonstration, while Diane Abbott tweeted her support.

All the usual suspect, of course!  

Mr Dempsey told the protesters: “This is a really serious situation. We have got members working for Transport for London who are facing deportation in a few short weeks’ time.

”On Wednesday, Mr Dempsey accused the former Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, of making a “knee-jerk decision” toughening the rules on how long foreign-born workers can remain in the UK, in response to growing political pressure from Nigel Farage’s Reform party over rising immigration levels.

It does seem an answer to the questions of why so many Tube announcements are unintelligible, and why so little is ever done to prevent foreign fare dodgers from jumping the barriers - a significant proportion of the workers on the system are themdselves foreign!   

But what has caused this sudden change?

The new rules increased salary thresholds for visa sponsorship to £41,700 a year for new applicants and removed key transport roles, including station assistant, from the “skilled worker” list - meaning it is harder for some foreign workers to remain in the UK.

Many TfL station staff began their employment on the London Underground on two-year graduate visa schemes believing they could move into skilled worker positions.He said: “Our members were employed with the full expectation that they would become full British citizens and would be staying here. They have brought their families, and bought their homes here. Now they could be forced to leave.

Oh dear, how sad, never mind. 

“This is unfair. We are not for open borders. We are for a fair migration policy – one that is humane and fair and treats people properly. This doesn’t meet that test.

“So what we are calling for, as a bare minimum, is that this should be paused until the Migration Advisory Committee can finish its work. There should be transitional arrangements put in place.”

Good luck arguing that in this political and financial climate! 

What’s With The Pronouns, How Many People Does She Think She Is..?

Londoners living with disabilities and chronic health conditions say they have struggled to use a Transport for London (TfL) scheme while travelling, with one even threatened by another passenger. The "Please Offer Me A Seat" badge and card scheme, which marks its eighth anniversary this month, is designed to help those with disabilities and health conditions by signalling, external to other passengers they should give up their seat if needed.

And what happens when those passengers have no visible disability? Like their example, a typical dyed-hair example of modern youth?

Eliza Rain, 28, who has a chronic pain condition, said when using the badge they were often challenged and one passenger "threatened to push me off the train because I'd asked for their seat".Eliza, a content creator from London, is one of the more than 140,000 people who use the badge. They said they used it for more than four years on their Tube commute and on buses and trains, but eventually opted to use their wheelchair while on public transport due to how many other passengers refused to give up their seat. "People wouldn't give me a seat, and I couldn't stand... without potentially having a dangerous medical episode," they explained.

Is 'dangerous medical episode' code for 'nervous breakdown', perhaps? She's clearly not operating with a full set of tools. 

When working in their old job, Eliza said it was stressful and "pretty much impossible" for them to get a seat on the Northern line to London Bridge using the badge, despite being at risk of passing out. They said: "I had someone basically just shout at me and flat out say 'no'. "Someone else threatened to push me off the train because I'd asked for their seat because I needed to sit down, and they were in the priority area and didn't have a badge. Obviously they could have said no if they needed the seat."

What makes you so sure they didn't need it, Eliza? Don't you believe in the 'invisible disabilities' yourself? 

On some days not being able to sit down on the Tube caused a symptom flare-up which left them unable to do daily activities like cook a meal.

She doesn't look like she's missed many...  

They said they had also been questioned in the past about "what was wrong" with them when using the badge.

Pity the author of this article didn't mention the fact she appears not to know how many people she is...