South London shoppers are ‘wary’ of using their high street because pickpockets are snatching phones and purses from locals on a regular basis.
Residents living around Eltham High Street in Greenwich borough have claimed individuals are targeting pensioners on the road in pickpocketing and theft offences, with one woman having close to £2,000 in cash taken.
Maureen Metcalfe, 82, said the issue has gotten worse in recent years. She said she has noticed a lot of elderly women walking around with their bags open, suggesting they’ve been targeted and are unaware, with young people also snatching valuable items such as phones.
The resident told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I only come here about twice a week nowadays. I used to come more but if you have to go to the bank, you’re very wary.”
She added: “I remember I was in the [bank] and a lady came in panicked. She said she had the bottom of her bag slashed. That’s what they do. She had lost £500. I think they target older people because their reactions are not as quick… There was a little old lady in the bank the other week crying her eyes out because she had her clasp pinched.”
Ms Metcalfe said despite her worries, she still has good faith in the police but would like to see officers patrolling the high street more frequently. Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said they had lived in Eltham for over 30 years and they had also noticed an increase in theft on the high street, to the point where they have stopped using ATMs outside banks.
They told the LDRS: “They reckon they are targeting older people. It’s the phones that they’re nicking now, they grab the phones while they’re on bikes.”
The LDRS has seen several reports of individuals attempting to pickpocket shoppers on the high street, on the Eltham, SE9 Facebook group.
Norma Small, 77, has lived in Eltham for 50 years and uses the high street every day. She said she was pickpocketed on the road a few years ago after she visited the bank so it’s not a new issue, though the frequency appears to be increasing.
She told the LDRS: “Someone must have been watching me because I took money out for Christmas and a holiday then went to a charity shop. I felt somebody [in my bag] when I moved. I had £2,000 and they left me with £150. They just grabbed it and ran… I was beside myself.”
Ms Small said she reported the issue to the police but the money was never recovered. Data from the Met Police found there had been a general increase in offences relating to theft on Eltham High Street from January to April of this year, increasing from 19 to 34 offences a month between those months.
These crimes included burglary, shoplifting and robbery offences. The Met Police says crime data from May to July of this year is currently not available due to an issue with its data feed. Inspector Jo Chapman, responsible for policing the Eltham area, told the LDRS: “We have listened to the concerns of the community and increased the number of neighbourhood officers assigned to this area.”
She added: “This year has seen a significant decline in antisocial incidents compared to the previous 12 months, while reports of shoplifting incidents have also reduced.”
Inspector Chapman said neighbourhood police teams were working with schools, officers, safer transport teams and mounted branch police to disrupt and deter antisocial behaviour at times and locations when such offences were noted to be most common. She said the police work closely with Greenwich Council’s Safer Spaces Teams and their wardens to target antisocial behaviour and address safety concerns.
The inspector added that the police were working closely with business groups and shops in the area to reduce shoplifting and theft. A Greenwich Council spokesperson told the LDRS that the authority had invested £1.3 million in proactive measures to improve community safety. They added that the council works closely with the police and other partners to identify high crime areas for extra police and enforcement officers to be deployed to.
They said: “It’s Our Greenwich mission to make sure everyone is and feels safe and we’re proud to be investing in new resources to support this. Eltham is a thriving town centre, with a vibrant high street, a fantastic mix of shops and award-winning green spaces which have greatly benefited from significant council investment over recent years, including upgrading street lighting.”
The spokesperson said the council runs the Business Crime Reduction Partnership in Eltham, a service that collaborates with businesses and the police to address issues such as shoplifting, vandalism, and public disorder. They claimed this had helped businesses adopt measures to prevent crime and ensured the area remained a welcoming and secure place for all.
They added: “Eltham is also home to one of our five Safehaven Superhubs, which are safe spaces for people to go in an emergency, and we work with Charlton Athletic to engage with young people on the high street twice a week. More widely, we have just launched a campaign which gave residents and visitors safety tips around theft prevention, to help ensure our borough stays safe.”
