A gang who robbed people of luxury watches and bags in south and west London in December 2021 and January 2022 have been convicted. Their victims were threatened with a machete or a large knife on busy streets, some of them at midday. Police traced the group after they fled a crashed getaway car and left keys, phones and a bank card inside, and photographs of two of them wearing the stolen watches helped the case.
What it means
Look at how the victims were chosen. A watch on a wrist can be seen from across a road, and these robbers picked their targets in the open: a couple walking down a street, two men at a pub table.
For anyone who wears valuable pieces in London, the first defence is awareness of who is taking an interest in you and when you are most exposed. The police advice after this case was the same: stay aware of your surroundings and keep valuables out of sight. That early interest is what our Behavioural Detection Officers are trained to identify.
First published by Barham Protection Services on 10 November 2024.
