Video supplied by the Metropolitan Police of an armed robbery in central London (Image: PA)
Do not ‘Advance to Mayfair’ – the Monopoly board’s star buy is now a crime blackspot. It’s no surprise Tom Cruise is reported to be quitting London after the brazen raid on a Rolex store near his £35million luxury penthouse. But the Hollywood star is only the highest profile ‘escapee’ from the crime wave sweeping the wealth-generating heart of our capital.
Many of London’s most expensive neighbourhoods are now ‘no go’ areas for anyone openly carrying a mobile phone, let alone sporting an expensive watch. Cynics will no doubt ask, “so what?” but they miss the point. I deal with ultra-high net worth people every day, the ‘wealth generators’ worth billions to the UK through capital investments, companies they run, jobs they create, taxes they pay – much going to help the less well off. So, when the wealthy leave, they rip gaping holes in the UK economy. It will take years to plug them – if we ever do.
A jewellery shop is robbed in Richmond, west London, in broad daylight in late January (Image: X)
Besides which, many victims of London crime are not wealthy. Just before Christmas I was in Mayfair and heard a woman screaming for help. A man had attacked her in broad daylight. He was six foot plus, she was little more than five feet tall and not a wealthy target – I later learned she was a hotel worker. Onlookers ignored what was happening as the thief tore the phone from her hand and ran away. I couldn’t, so I ran and caught the attacker and wrestled him to the ground.
He was taller, larger and younger than me, but I was furious and held on as we scuffled and he threw the stolen phone away from him. A hotel security guard came to help hold the man down for 10 to 15 minutes until police eventually arrived. All the while, the robber shouted Islamic phrases and curses and accused me of targeting him because of his race. I took away his bag during the struggle, believing it might contain stolen items. It did, plus what looked like an 18-inch machete – I may have been lucky. I certainly had a telling off from my wife later.
As the police dealt with the man, he yelled through a ‘check list’ clearly designed to help him escape the worst consequences of his crime: he was under-age – he didn’t look it – he wanted to speak to his mother, I attacked him – of course I did – the phone was nothing to do with him and so on.
Shockingly, the police admitted that this callous reprobate might be released that evening due to identification issues. When I complained that street crime was now rife in places like Mayfair, they admitted that criminals were ‘swarming’ posh postcodes and aiming to overload police resources.
I didn’t doubt it; two other men stood nearby after I tackled the robber and threatened me but backed off once a crowd began to gather. And I knew this was no isolated incident. Just months earlier, a man on an electric bike approached my ex-Embassy Audi A8 while I was parked in South Kensington. He was wearing a balaclava and hammered at the car windows with a knife.
Fortunately, the car has reinforced windows that can’t be broken that easily. I called the police while he swore and threatened to kill me if I didn’t hand over my valuables. He then sped off when police arrived minutes later.
Subsequent comments from friends and colleagues suggest well-organised gangs really are targeting wealthy districts, briefing their ‘teams’ on what to say if arrested and using strategies designed to overwhelm police. Those who can afford it are hiring private security while probably planning to leave the UK, and I know that the Dubai authorities and others are using social media to help them make up their minds.
We need tough action, especially from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who at best seems powerless at worst, uninterested at best, while one of the world’s greatest cities is written off by rival nations – damaging the UK economy and our national sense of well-being.
Khan and the authorities urgently need to Increase visible policing as a deterrent; enforce swift deportation for non-citizens committing violent crimes; beef up sentencing and end same-day release; debate the ‘no face, no case’ legal loophole allowing criminals to escape justice by hiding their identity from surveillance using balaclavas and hoodies; and be held more accountable on crime strategy. Until we see action, I fear things can only get worse.
- Wolfgang Douglas is an asset liquidation specialist, UK investor and serial entrepreneur
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