Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

are bike thieves targetting women for violent street mugging?

 

yesterday (mon 8th) at 5.30pm- broad daylight- outside seven sisters school i got mugged for my bike by a group of teenage boys. as i cycled past these boys - one of them shouted 'bike'and next thing i was drop kicked in my back - the bike was taken off me as ilay on the floor and i was kicked repeatedly by 8-10 teenage boys. these young boys continued to kick me in the back and head for some time after taking the bike. i gave chase and followed some of them to ida road- behind chesnuts park. these boys were all in Park View academy school uniform, short hair, afro-carribean and aged between 12 and 14.

 

i have since heard of two other such incidents in the local area where women have been kicked off their bikes by boys of the same description and the bikes stolen! one of these women was cycling along South grove last saturday, noticed a boy beside her and then he started high kicking at her head so she just gave the bike over to him before she got badly hurt. thats two similar incidents in a very small area in a few days!

 

are women being targeted as a soft option by boys in street muggings for bikes?

 

has anyone else heard of such incidents?

 

I think its vital to for warn women cycling to be extra careful about where they are and who is around them- especially in the vicinity of chesnuts park and surrounding areas. if i had been aware of these other incidents to women by teenage boys i would have taken a different route when i saw the boys ahead of me or would have stayed on main roads where possible

 

Mel

Tags for Forum Posts: bike theft

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Hi
Just writing to say that ANY violence against women(or men even...) is a criminal offence - let alone being kicked on the ground which you seem to describe in a very low key way - most of us would be in shock for weeks - and it doesn't matter if one was only 12 - even a 12 year old can do a lot of damage - you were left with bruising etc - and although the injuries could have been much worse (although bad enough) their callous disregard for the damage they were inflicting would be viewed in a very dim way if it came to court. Anyone this happens to should dial 999 IMMEDIATELY. If these boys are not dealt with young their behaviour will escalate as they get older.
I've just read this and am so shocked, what a terrible story and well done you for reacting the way you did. Please keep us posted on the reaction of the school, not very impressive so far. Will be very interesting to hear whether any contact is made with the house you visited.

Like John McM I would also suggest contacting the London Cycling Campaign. There have been other bike incidents outside the area (I cycle through Islington most days and there have been a number of incidents happen there). It would be good to keep them alert to these issues on a Londonwide basis. I'm a member if you're not and would be happy to report it on your behalf (though I'm sure whether you're a member or not they would like to know). Their website is www.lcc.org.uk

Hope you are feeling okay and haven't been put off cycling.
Just wanted to add how appalled I was when I read the account of your incident, and the apparent inability of the police to act when you told them where your bike was.

I am involved with the Haringey Cycling Campaign which is the local branch of the the London Cycling Campaign (LCC). The best person to contact at LCC would be Charlie Lloyd - charlie@lcc.org.uk
i am that Adam - i have sent you a private messsage with my number
Regarding further sightings of these boys. At 4.40pm on Wednesday my suspicions were aroused by the behaviour of four young teenage boys of Afro-Caribbean background on bikes turning right into Clarence Road from Black Boy Lane. There was a large amount of looking behind them which seemed very suspicious and unnecessary for normal bike riding. It looked to me they were checking they were not being followed. When I came home at about 6.10pm I saw the same boys standing in the road (Clarence) standing around a bike which was lying in the road looking at it in a way which suggested it was new to them. Relevant?
It would be really useful if a police liaison or someone from the St Anne's SNT could comment on this thread to let us at least know whether there is action being taken (even if they are acting undercover, some form of assurance from them that they are at least aware and dealing with it would be appreciated) - as I mentioned a little earlier on this thread - I usually have my daughter on the front of my bike, and am loathed to go out on it now as she could potentially get injured if they targeted me. Is there any way of inviting them to comment?
Probably best to go to them and not wait for someone to spot this thread.... this needs their urgent attention as clearly there's enough intelligence on this for them to act, i.e. school they attend, address for one of the gang etc...

I would be amazed if anyone had the nerve to try and take a bike with a little one perched up front - but you're right to be wary - they sound like a ruthless and vicious bunch

There's a phone number and query form on the attached - hope it helps
http://www.met.police.uk/teams/haringey/stanns/
Thanks Paul - I have sent them a request to take a look.
Hi Mel
Sorry to hear about your ordeal, it really makes me angry taht this can happen. Please let us know if and when the headmaster replies to what has happened. He should be on to this straight away, as it reflects really badly on the school, and that's me being polite. Hopefully they'll catch the culprits quickly.
The audacity of them - seriously! it must be incredibly difficult to be in close proximity to them - but try to act confident when they are near. Look right into their eyes and give them your biggest, nicest smile. They're day will come.

I am glad the the head is suitably outraged - after all, it reflects badly on his school.

On a more promising note - I received a call from the SNT and had a very good conversation with Sgt. Hannah. Probably not the wisest thing to document what was said word for word on here, but they're taking it very seriously and are investigating/taking further action. Put it this way, it has restored my confidence that these won't just be classified as random thefts and left at that.
That's good news Katy, I hope something comes out of this - I'm spluttering with rage just reading this post so I hope that they are caught. Glad to hear the head is on the case too.
Here's an item from a local paper in Swindon which purports to reveal the world behind teenage bike robbery.

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