On Thursday, October 17, police officers burst into Julian Markham House (JMH) to retrieve footage from the accommodation’s CCTV cameras. This happened after numerous reports of belongings getting stolen on Walworth Road in front of JMH’s entrance.
Situated in the heart of Elephant & Castle, a relatively safe area, JMH turned into a platform for police investigation on the evening of October 17. As King’s students were crafting their masterpieces during the accommodation’s Clay Art Night, they were interrupted by loud shouts, followed by intense knocking on the front door.Â
“Out of a sudden, a couple of police officers entered the common room looking for a staff member. They asked me whether they could view the recordings from the CCTV cameras as they believed those would help their investigation,†a staff member told Roar.Â
It appears the ‘thieves’ are usually riding a bike or a motorcycle. They aim for passers-by that have their phones or wallets in their hands and are walking closer to the road. The ‘thieves’ swiftly grab their victim’s belongings when ‘passing by’ and quickly ride away. By the time the victim realizes what has happened, they are already far away and unreachable.Â
Such events are not new to London, but the number of such cases has drastically increased in the area around JMH, according to students. There were four reports only this week. Moreover, the police officers requested the videos at around 8:15 pm on that night. Less than two hours later, a girl got her phone stolen at the corner of the building.Â
The saga continued on Saturday when a KCL student shared a guy jumped out of a car and “headbutted†the friend she was walking with. She further mentioned that not so long ago a random man grabbed her shoulder in the same area.Â
The police are looking into the most recent cases, but as of now, there are no official reports of ‘thieves’ being identified or arrested. Police officers urge people to stay alert at all times.
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