6
Jun
2013
By Calvin at 14:58 GMT, 12 years ago
In the Newham recorder today there’s a disturbing report about a man who was robbed of £1600 cash. The victim withdrew the money from inside the Santander bank in Woodgrange Road, Forest Gate, put it in an envelope and then into an inside pocket before he left the bank. He got onto a No. 58 bus to take him home. He got off the bus and went into a shop near his home and it was in the shop that he was first approached by a man holding a piece of paper with an address on it who tried to engage him in conversation.
The victim said he couldn’t help, left the shop and walked home to his flat. He let himself in through the communal entrance and it was at this point that he realised that he had been followed home by two men. The men followed him through the entrance and the man who had the piece of paper followed him up the stairs and again tried to engage him in conversation outside the victim’s flat. It was at this point that the man suddenly reached into the victim’s pocket, stole the money and made off.
All this happened in broad daylight between 15:30 and 15:45 on May 29 at a block of flats in Green Street near to the junction with Neville Road.
There’s no doubt that the Metropolitan Police at Newham would like to hear from anybody who has some information or you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
TCPW Comment Hindsight is, as we all know, a wonderful thing and having read this account about this unfortunate man would any of us have done anything differently?
The local police crime prevention expert in the area, Andy Whitfield, quite correctly advises people who are collecting large sums of money like this to go with a friend or relative as two people are less likely to be robbed than one, but what if this gentleman was unable to make that arrangement?
This is a difficult one and unfortunately we don’t actually know if the man was followed from the bank or was spotted as he entered the shop, because this makes a difference.
I think if I was withdrawing a lot of cash on my own, and many of us have on occasion, I would split it up and pop it into different pockets. I do this if I’m taking cash with me on holiday; some in my wallet, some in my bum bag and some in one of my front pockets near to the nether regions. I do this not because I’m worried about being robbed or pick-pocketed, but because I’m in the habit of losing things and at least if I lose some of my cash it won’t be all. But likewise if you are robbed then you may get to keep some of your money.
If you’re on your own in the bank when withdrawing money I think it would make sense to take note of the people in the branch with you. You can always delay the withdrawal if you are at all suspicious. You might even consider taking a decoy envelope full of cut up newspaper, which is something I used to do when collecting the weekly wages for my Father’s building company.
Then there’s the incident in the shop, which if it happened again (there’s that hindsight again) would put you on a warning and perhaps prompt you to call the police or get the shopkeeper to do it. Was this the first time the thief encountered the man? Was he asking him questions so he could get a look inside his jacket?
Finally there’s the point at which the man entered his building, the moment that he realised he was being followed. What would you do? It’s interesting that the robbery (or snatch theft) took place inside the building rather than outside it. Was it because the thieves were nervous about being seen or could it have happened outside all the same?
If you’d looked back and spotted these men following you what could you have done? If you’d seen them soon enough you might have been able to run to the door and get in before they reached it, but the fact is that for this poor gentleman the scenario played out just as was reported and he lost his money.
I don’t know, with hindsight, if he could or would have done things differently, but it makes you think though, doesn’t it?
Original Story Newham Recorder: http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/court-crime/man_followed_and_robbed_after_withdrawing_1_600_in_cash_at_forest_gate_bank_1_2225255
