Police appeal after iPhone snatched on train

3:46pm Wednesday 13th June 2012 in Lewisham By David Mills

Police would like to speak to this man Police would like to speak to this man

POLICE are appealing for information after a 19-year-old woman from Beckenham had her iPhone stolen on a train.

The passenger was sitting on a bank of four seats on a train travelling from Orpington to London Victoria, looking at her phone, when she was approached by a man.

Officers say the man, who boarded the train at Penge East, suddenly snatched her phone and jumped off the service at Sydenham Hill at around midday on Sunday, April 15.

Detective Constable Oliver Gilbert, the investigating officer, said: "Thieves see Smartphones as rich pickings, chiefly due to their high sell-on value.

"Typically they’ll target passengers who are using their phones or other electronic items out in the open, because the potential victims are more likely to be distracted, making it easier for them to snatch the items.

"We aren’t asking people to stop using their mobile phones, but to be more aware of their surroundings when using the high-tech devices in public as this will help greatly reduce the chance of becoming a victim of crime."

Anyone with information about the incident should contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B8/LSA of 13/06/12 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Comments(20)

Slonik says...
8:32pm Wed 13 Jun 12

I'm sure the thief is an upstanding member of the 'community' in his spare time...

(not)

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treesrgreen says...
10:24pm Wed 13 Jun 12

Oh what a surprise!!

Scum

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Indigenous Pensioner says...
9:57am Thu 14 Jun 12

ONe time we could use the railway system without these thug preying on passen ger where poeple would look out for there fellow traveller and not be subjected to violence and robbery we need a new goverment with iron fist approach to these thugs and send them to a military style jail house 300 miles from there home and strict regime by tough instructors who would soon knock the cockiness and swagger out these thug no telephone calls no tv no 1 meal a day unless you work a 15 hrs day of hard physical labour we need tough politicians we never asked for this crime wave by these thugs in hoods and one time we could leave our latch key in the door and no one would dare to go into some ones home it never happened we w were a much better country then so i dont care tuppence what any one says and i will vote for who i like and no one can stop me.Thank you.

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Durham909 says...
10:02am Thu 14 Jun 12

Look at the greed of this mugger...... he has a mobile already and then nicks another one!
SICK!

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Sankey Steve says...
10:08am Thu 14 Jun 12

Please remember in your thoughts this saturday 16june .. 100 years since the birth of the greatest Prime Minister we *NEVER had in this country .. Enoch Powell ..

I'll be raising a glass to Enoch .. oh my word .. how true his words were!

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firsteventure says...
10:21am Thu 14 Jun 12

Indigenous Pensioner wrote:
ONe time we could use the railway system without these thug preying on passen ger where poeple would look out for there fellow traveller and not be subjected to violence and robbery we need a new goverment with iron fist approach to these thugs and send them to a military style jail house 300 miles from there home and strict regime by tough instructors who would soon knock the cockiness and swagger out these thug no telephone calls no tv no 1 meal a day unless you work a 15 hrs day of hard physical labour we need tough politicians we never asked for this crime wave by these thugs in hoods and one time we could leave our latch key in the door and no one would dare to go into some ones home it never happened we w were a much better country then so i dont care tuppence what any one says and i will vote for who i like and no one can stop me.Thank you.
well said sir, the old days were the better days in this country for sure.. give us a vote on getting out of this european union hell hole who keep sending us all their criminals will ya

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longshanks2 says...
10:41am Thu 14 Jun 12

Yea the old days were the best, lets get out of Europe now and get our country back, so we can call it great again, and be known as English men again, and not British.

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the wall says...
11:43am Thu 14 Jun 12

treesrgreen wrote:
Oh what a surprise!! Scum
What's a surprise ?

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Jeeepsie Joe says...
11:43am Thu 14 Jun 12

Yawn yawn yawn.

Change the tune someone.


Looosersssssssssssss
ssss ! The electorate have spoken now run along perlease.

THaNK YoU

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the wall says...
4:09pm Thu 14 Jun 12

Don't forget to comment on this story.

http://www.newsshopp
er.co.uk/news/976244
0.Bromley_town_centr
e_iPhone_robber_jail
ed/




Don't let the fact that he is white stop you.

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miss sweethuney says...
9:48am Fri 15 Jun 12

this guy has a prominent nose which should help identify him along with rodent eyes

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jeff onions says...
10:23am Fri 15 Jun 12

maybe a double figure sentence would stop these cretins!

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bothered44 says...
10:49am Fri 15 Jun 12

Why do people think they can just walk up to someone on a train (or anywhere for that matter) and just take things... people have no respect these days. Probably thinks he's 'owed' something!

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Jeeepsie Joe says...
11:15am Fri 15 Jun 12

miss sweethuney wrote:
this guy has a prominent nose which should help identify him along with rodent eyes
Sounds just your type then.

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the wall says...
12:11pm Fri 15 Jun 12

jeff onions wrote:
maybe a double figure sentence would stop these cretins!
Then this scum might as well kill you for your hard worked for belongings they would have nothing to lose.

Bring back the stocks/pillory. Public humiliation is the only way. Expose them to ridicule and mockery. The BNP are use to this.

Passers-by will be encouraged to throw mud, rotten eggs, moldy fruit and vegetables, smelly fish, offal, and excrement (both animal and human) at those being punished.

We should save scaphism for the really evil people.

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reasonable75 says...
4:37pm Fri 15 Jun 12

So even if he's caught (unlikely), and it's proved he has (probably) previous convictions - what will he actually get?

I recall last year articles about Lewisham where the bleeding hearts were saying we must "interact" with these people.

Someone from the "safer streets" commented that a victim was to blame because instead of handing over his phone/wallet etc he decided to deck the mugger.

The prospective liberal candidate for Lewisham (Joe knows who I mean) actually said the victim should be charged for daring to stand up to the scum!

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Jeeepsie Joe says...
8:02pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Steady on there reasonable75 our Max means well I'm sure. Liberals are just misguided, they tend to see good where none exists, and then some scum bags take advantage of their good nature.

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DougMM says...
9:33am Sat 16 Jun 12

Hope he is caught he obviously has done this thing before and will carry on attacking people for their hard earned valuables... he even ignores the cctv! brazen or what! come on public someone most recognise him!

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bible scoffer says...
10:12am Sat 16 Jun 12

...those shifty eyes!! rofl!!

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PaulErith says...
1:18pm Mon 18 Jun 12

Hope he's caught and punished. Still, if I had my way, mobile phones would be banned on public transport, which would also have the bonus of making them harder to snatch.

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