In an extraordinary turn of events, some of the many visitors which Cricklewood has embraced have brought with them a sinister companion - crime.The Ham & High broke the story first on 29 September:
"A 12-YEAR-OLD boy had his mobile phone stolen after being threatened in Cricklewood. The youngster was walking with a friend along Ash Grove at 2pm last Friday when they passed a group of teenagers sitting on a wall. One of the group got off the wall, intimidated the victim and stole his mobile phone before walking off down an alleyway. The suspect is described as 16, of eastern European appearance, wearing a baggy blue tracksuit and blue baseball cap. Anyone with information should call Detective Sergeant Dawn Clarke on 020-8733 4593."Globalisation and international travel have brought with them opportunities to explore the world and experience new cultures. For years, Cricklewood has kept its borders open to other parts of London, embracing the cultural diversity that it brings and cherishing the opportunity to showcase the Cricklewood brand of tolerance, patience and virtue to other areas of London. Almost daily, as I wander down the Broadway, I can see pockets of tourists pointing to our peaceful streets; marvelling as cultures mingle; laughing at the antics of youths in hoodies as they demonstrate their fencing skills to senior citizens returning from their shopping and who gladly provide them with a £20 note to show their appreciation.
We open our homes to the world and we ask them in for a drink. And, of course, the world knows that if we are not at home, they are welcome gently to break a window and help themselves to a cup of tea or whatever it is that they need. It is this peaceful sense of community that brings people to Cricklewood and it is this spirit of openness that Cricklewood is bringing to London.
Against this background, the new wave of crime represented by this mobile phone theft is concerning. In any other area of London, it would of course go unreported as one of the least notable criminal offences. However, with this sort of thing going on in Cricklewood, we must ask ourselves how we are to protect our way of life. Fortunately, we have the Ham & High to alert us to the threat and, more thankfully, we have Detective Sergeant Dawn Clarke on the case, tracking down the thugs involved.
Three questions present themselves:
- How bad is this crimewave and is it true that DS Clarke has listed a landline because her phone too has been stolen?
- How many unreported telephone thefts have there been in the same period? I know that I rang a girl the other week and she didn't call back. Was she too a victim of phone theft?
- Will we respond by keeping our phones hidden or will we respond defiantly, holding our phones out high in front of us as we walk down the street? This correspondent will be taking the latter course. These thugs will never break our spirit. Our spirit of openness will not be taken from us so easily.
Oh, and a final question. How exactly do eastern Europeans visually differ from bog-standard white people? I feel I have missed something.
