Many in London afraid

Press, 2 April 1985, Page 7

Many in London afraid

NZPA staff correspondent London Half the people living in London are afraid to walk the city’s streets alone, according to a new survey. Figures given by Britain’s National Opinion Poll now portray the capital as a city of fear with people most scared of burglary and mugging crimes. The survey, done for London Weekend Television, follows recent publicity

over a 10 per cent increase of serious crimes in London during the last year. The poll firm’s research aimed at covering a wide cross-section of Londoners, from the “Sloanes” (of the most up-market suburbs) to the “Hackneyites” (from impoverished areas with concentrations of ethnic minorities.) It showed that 50 per cent of the people surveyed across London feel unsafe

when walking alone in their own area. Of those, 68 per cent of women said they felt unsafe and 79 per cent of women aged over 65 admitted they were afraid. Its figures revealed that 49 per cent thought it likely that their homes would be burgled, 32 per cent believed they would be mugged at some time, and 35 per cent feared vandalism of their property.