Spate of boat break-ins East London

[Lady Muck]

Hate being the messenger on this type of thing, also hate the concept of, 'no go' areas, but felt this was too important to not report. I'm just reiterating what I've heard from the London Boaters list, so any London Boaters reading this feel free to correct me or add any useful information.

 

We're facing high levels of crime on boaters in East London at the moment.

 

The details I know of:

 

The council has started switching off the lights at night in Victoria Park in Hackney, making the moorings there pitch dark. Plus they now lock the gates to the park at dusk. But this is not putting off gangs of youths who scale the fences that aren't that high (hell, even I can get over them no bother).

Since this happened there have been lots of break-ins. It was reported as many as ten boats done over on Saturday, although I can't confirm the actual numbers.

 

Police and CRT are aware. Boaters think that a local gang of youths are targetting the boats. In one instance they ripped a safe from the wall of one boat. They appear to have spent a lot of time on some boats undisturbed, going through absolutely everything - emptying out files, even in one case dirty laundry and dismantling the loo to look inside that as well. In two cases we know that entry was via front doors having smashed the glass.

 

They stole the usual stuff - cash, phones, money, passports, laptops, musical instruments, anything of value.

 

So if Victoria Park/Broadway Market looks unusually quiet at the moment, there's your reason.

 

To add, Islington isn't that great either at the moment, we still don't really know why CRT removed the padlocks from the gate (it used to be locked at night), but because of this there have been muggings and local kids intimidating and threatening boaters - spoiling for a fight, setting off fireworks from the roofs of boats, that sort of thing. So if Islington doesn't look that busy at the moment either, there's your reason.

 

Not a good idea to moor in either place and leave your boat unattended after dark it seems. (Although what choice do many of us have I know?).

 

Will report back once I know more.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Lady Muck

[Catrin]

Scary, we used to look to Victoria Park as a safe place to stop overnight. Obviously, not a good idea now.

[Wanted]

sad news for London boaters and the majority of young people who will be tarred with the se brush.

 

I hope CRT and the LA are working with boaters on this.

[Lady Muck]

Scary, we used to look to Victoria Park as a safe place to stop overnight. Obviously, not a good idea now.

 

So do we, usually moor there overnight on our way through London.

 

Having moored my boat in Tottenham for over 6 years now, I guess I'm more laid back about trouble than many visitors to the capital. We've come to expect and have deal with a certain level - it's not Henley on Thames!

 

But this is pretty rough, even by local standards.

 

Just to add - some of the boaters affected just paid for winter moorings there.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Lady Muck

[Catrin]

So do we, usually moor there overnight on our way through London.

 

Having moored my boat in Tottenham for over 6 years now, I guess I'm more laid back about trouble than many visitors to the capital. We've come to expect and have deal with a certain level - it's not Henley on Thames!

 

But this is pretty rough, even by local standards.

 

Just to add - some of the boaters affected just paid for winter moorings there.

These boats were obviously left unattended. It seems from what you've said they the thieves are spending quite a long time on these boats. Is this in the main Regent's Canal section, not around the corner in 'Duckett's Cut'? Can we assume that occupied boats are OK? If not, that's even more scary!

(Edited: for stupidity and tiredness)

Edited October 21, 2012 by Catrin

[GUMPY]

It used to be 20+ years ago that you would not stop between islington and limehouse seems its going that wayagain

[Lady Muck]

It's the visitor moorings, just before the lock, where they do the winter moorings, you know the 'nice' bit, and the supposedly ten boats on Saturday night were done over when people were out for the evening.

 

Link to pic on Flickr

 

But yes, there have been instances of people being in when a break-in was attempted.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Lady Muck
to add pic

[the grinch]

reports elsewhere give the number as 17 break ins!! not good but as the police are only interested in persecution of the motorist not really surprising any more!

[Lady Muck]

Yep 17 including 10 last night.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Lady Muck

[luctor et emergo]

Perhaps a floating hoody or two may put the little fockers off..

[the grinch]

must admit i never stopped there little venice/camden then straight through to Limehouse/ponders end. 3 mills by tesco or city rd/tunnel so long as staying with the boat it just seemed to risky even though it probably wasn't in those days

 

probably a gang so not good trying to defend yourself against them!

[Lady Muck]

Thing is, both Islington and Viccy Park are now really posh areas, you'd need a million quid at least to afford a house in those areas.

 

My link

 

Tottenham has been less safe up until these incidents, but you'd kind of expect it, because it's a very poor area.

 

Viccy Park is all yummy mummies and organic butchers, now, but it's still inner city London, with pockets of inner city poverty and the crime that goes with it.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Lady Muck

[canals are us?]

Yep 17 including 10 last night.

 

It's quite shocking. Isn't there CCTV in that area? I couldn't think of anything worse than a thief breaking in while your inside!!

 

I would put 2 dobermans etc in each boat and then everyone leave . Install a few faded "beware of dog" stickers in the window and let the burglars have a surprise

 

Sentencing is something that is also too lenient

 

 

James.

[PaddingtonBear]

what are you going to do with CCTV? throw it at them. When CCTV was installed in our town centre the first thing stolen was...................both the cameras

[Leonie]

The latest update is that there are no boats moored at Victoria Park as the remaining boats moved out on Sunday night - I believe because of more theiving. It's usually an 'okay' place to stop but this is concentrated, organised and relentless crime coming at us (allegedly) from the Estate next to the canal.

 

what are you going to do with CCTV? throw it at them. When CCTV was installed in our town centre the first thing stolen was...................both the cameras

 

The Park closes it's gates at night and all the lights are turned out. CCTV, if there was any, would be useless in the pitch dark.

[Tuscan]

I bought my first house many many years ago just off Victoria Park, fairly rough area got burgled twice in 4 years , but that was 35 years ago

[Leonie]

These boats were obviously left unattended. It seems from what you've said they the thieves are spending quite a long time on these boats. Is this in the main Regent's Canal section, not around the corner in 'Duckett's Cut'? Can we assume that occupied boats are OK? If not, that's even more scary!

(Edited: for stupidity and tiredness)

 

They weren't left 'unattended'. They were targetted in the afternoon/evening when boaters were either still at work, or out for dinner/drinks over the course of the weekend. You're right that the thieves had plenty of time and went over each boat fairly thoroughly.

[Athy]

So they have forced the boaters to move out. That means there will be no more break-ins because there are no boats left to break into - which in turn means that the culprits will probably never be caught.

I hope that the boats have found new, more congenial places to moor.

[CV32]

Thing is, both Islington and Viccy Park are now really posh areas, you'd need a million quid at least to afford a house in those areas.

 

My link

 

Tottenham has been less safe up until these incidents, but you'd kind of expect it, because it's a very poor area.

 

Viccy Park is all yummy mummies and organic butchers, now, but it's still inner city London, with pockets of inner city poverty and the crime that goes with it.

 

It may look posh but under the covers its still rough - My Uncle and Aunt lived in Victoria Park Road for ten years, burgled, car stolen, car vandalised, Aunt in local bank ended up on the floor as an armed raid was in progress .... nice place London !

[MaryP]

It may look posh but under the covers its still rough - My Uncle and Aunt lived in Victoria Park Road for ten years, burgled, car stolen, car vandalised, Aunt in local bank ended up on the floor as an armed raid was in progress .... nice place London !

 

I was going to say the same kind of thing. The property in the link is a beautiful, huge converted chapel, hence the high price. There are still plenty of estates around VP, north and south of the park, so although it's gone upmarket in the past 20 years, it's not what I'd describe as 'posh'!!!

[Tony A]

We must have been lucky. we stayed for 2 nights at the End of September and another night early October on our way to Limehouse.

All was quiet and no trouble.

[Lady Muck]

Just to add - if you have a tender, make sure it is chained up, have now heard that they are taking tenders and using them to rob bikes and other items from gardens of houses on the offside of the same bit of canal. Marvellous.

[MaryP]

Quite a few boats have left, but many remain. There are now A4 notices saying that the Police are patrolling the towpath.

[Lady Muck]

Thanks Mary! If anyone has anything new to add, let's keep this thread going.

[blackrose]

It used to be 20+ years ago that you would not stop between islington and limehouse seems its going that wayagain

 

I went that way a couple of years ago and I was told by a couple of local boaters permanently moored at City Rd Basin not to stop until I got to Limehouse because of the feral kids. An hour later I got talking to couple of young policemen patroling the towpath around Islington who told me there had been some muggings in the area, and soon after I was waved over to the other side of the canal to avoid police divers, one of whom told me they were searching for a body.

 

As a NW Londoner I do wonder if I was getting a representative view of the problems of E London or whether these things were all just coincidence.

 

Whatever the truth, neither the fear of crime nor the crime itself appeals to me, so I see no point of mooring in East London.

Edited October 22, 2012 by blackrose