Muggings around IFSC

lightspeed

At just after 8:00pm i had parked in ifsc and was walking to city centre. I took out my phone to text a friend saying I was on my way and to look at google maps to help get me to where i was going.

A guy in a black hoody on a bike snatched it from and kept cycling. I chased after him but couldnt catch him.

I walked back to where I work and spoke with security gaurd. He told me a guy on a bike also robbed his phone 2 weeks ago and his friends phone on a separate occasion was also recently robbed.

I reported it to the garda station and just ahead of me in the garda station was an indian looking guy with his nose badly cut and bleeding. He had been walking and was attacked by 3 guys and mugged for his phone.

I spoke with the man and when I asked was there noone around to help, he said there was but they just ignored it.

The gardai told me it was there 5th report tonight and just shooked their heads looking at each other in disbelief when i told them my phone had just been robbed.

The gardai were telling me its scary how under resourced they are and they have very few garda available to patrol the area.

With the shooting that took place last night he said they were even more under resourced.

To be fair to the gardai I was talking with, he was genuinely sincere and dedicated that they would do all they can to catch those responsible.

The fact that there are so many muggings in the area on what appear to be an ongoing basis, indicates those responsible feel justifiably confident that they can mug people without worrying about any garda presence or the consequences if they are caught.

Ive never been mugged or robbed before.

Is it a fair assessment to say city centre Dublin has got more dangerous in recent years or does it just seem that way?

Ken.

Mod-Moved to the Dublin city forum. Please read the local charter before posting.

bobmalooka

It's the same bunch of scummers all the time too.

About 3 weeks ago saw a guy getting knocked off his bike by them and within 20 seconds they were gone with the bike. Happens so quickly.

I went to see he was ok and called the guards at the same time, owner of a cafe came out saying he'd easily pick out the ones who done as he see's them everyday and could pull CCTV of them to help the guards identity them.

The guy who was mugged left before the guards came, "sure I won't see my bike again will I".

The same crowd are still hanging around IFSC harassing people.

lightspeed

bobmalooka wrote: »

It's the same bunch of scummers all the time too.

About 3 weeks ago saw a guy getting knocked off his bike by them and within 20 seconds they were gone with the bike. Happens so quickly.

I went to see he was ok and called the guards at the same time, owner of a cafe came out saying he'd easily pick out the ones who done as he see's them everyday and could pull CCTV of them to help the guards identity them.

The guy who was mugged left before the guards came, "sure I won't see my bike again will I".

The same crowd are still hanging around IFSC harassing people.

Its ****ing ridiculous. its like wild west at this point.

It is not just a dublin city issue given that Dubin is the capital of the country.
There are lots of tourists in the area and two elderly american women were chatting to me about it just as it happened.

I always here american tourists in and out of the spencer dock hotel just as i did last night.

Whats going to happen to Dublin as a tourist destination when tourists are robbed or witness muggings so blatantly and regularly.

Every country has some areas that tourists are typically told to avoid due to muggings and crime.

The financial hub of our country is now becoming if not already one of those areas.

Augme

lightspeed wrote: »

Its ****ing ridiculous. its like wild west at this point.

It is not just a dublin city issue given that Dubin is the capital of the country.
There are lots of tourists in the area and two elderly american women were chatting to me about it just as it happened.

I always here american tourists in and out of the spencer dock hotel just as i did last night.

Whats going to happen to Dublin as a tourist destination when tourists are robbed or witness muggings so blatantly and regularly.

Every country has some areas that tourists are typically told to avoid due to muggings and crime.

The financial hub of our country is now becoming if not already one of those areas.

Why is it that these conversations always quickly develop into ridiculous over-reactions.

Ericdravancrow

Augme wrote: »

Why is it that these conversations always quickly develop into ridiculous over-reactions.

Like sure... muggings are normal part if life..., It's not and it seems to be out of hand in that particular area. i.e. "its like the wild west"

lightspeed

If the same people are able to mug people on a nightly basis because there is no police presence , then its not an over reaction to describe like a wild west scenario as ive decribed.

The guards i was speaking with at the station said the situation is scary right now as they cant patrol the areas and dont have the resources.

If you think im over reacting, pop into Store street gardai station and the gaurds in there will tell you the same.

Augme

Ericdravancrow wrote: »

Like sure... muggings are normal part if life..., It's not and it seems to be out of hand in that particular area. i.e. "its like the wild west"

I'd argue that muggings are very much part of life in nearly every major city in the world.

Love2love

I work close by and due to the nature of my job, I could probably name the culprit as could the garda in Store St. I don't know about being under resourced but it's sometimes pointless catching them as the phone is sold on almost immediately and if they are caught in the act, it's just another charge against them and released to do it again. It seems it's more a let down of the judicial system as they clock up 100s of charges before they're actually punished.

Arcade_Tryer

Some of those working in the IFSC have engaged in a bit of mugging over the last decade too. :pac:

Holding a smartphone while walking along a street is akin to holding a few hundred euro in your hand. If you're going to be doing it, you need to be aware and have your eyes peeled; not fixated on the screen looking at google maps. Obviously the bike could have come from nowhere, but that's the city. You need to be careful.

amdublin

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

Holding a smartphone while walking along a street is akin to holding a few hundred euro in your hand. If you're going to be doing it, you need to be aware and have your eyes peeled; not fixated on the screen looking at google maps. Obviously the bike could have come from nowhere, but that's the city. You need to be careful.

You are undoubtedly right but I guess we all do this.

Sorry to hear about your phone op. Appreciate you posting the story here - for me it's a reminder to be more careful with my phone. Particularly drawing my attention to the ifsc which I would have thought was "ok"...

I caught a woman with her hand in my bag on my purse in starbucks O'Connell st last week - bag beside me, but me totally engrossed in my phone.

I shall be more careful all round in future!

Pawwed Rig

Arcade_Tryer wrote: »

Holding a smartphone while walking along a street is akin to holding a few hundred euro in your hand. If you're going to be doing it, you need to be aware and have your eyes peeled; not fixated on the screen looking at google maps. Obviously the bike could have come from nowhere, but that's the city. You need to be careful.

Victim is to blame

Gotcha

Notorious

Sorry to hear that OP. In March I was meeting a friend in the IFSC. Decided to leave the car at the on-street parking along Mayor St (outside the caged soccer pitch). As I pulled up I was treated to a view of two lads pushing a long, thin piece of metal down the side of a car door. I was taken aback that this was happening in broad daylight.

Called the guards after moving the car to the multi-story car park nearby. As I was walking back out onto the main road, the two lads drove past me in their new acquisition. The incident worked as a bit of an eye opener for me - I would've parked on that street many a time.

Alf Veedersane

The IFSC is hardly in the most salubrious area of Dublin. Every city has areas where you have to exercise more caution and that's compounded by the lack of Garda resources.

But it's not the Wild West anymore than Barcelona is when dozens of people have their pockets picked on La Rambla every hour.

uck51js9zml2yt

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Victim is to blame

Gotcha

Whose blaming the victim. The poster just said that you need to be aware of your surroundings.
How many times have people been glued to their phones and walked into a lamp post ( or in my case a low bridge arch) or under a bus?

Arcade_Tryer

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Victim is to blame

Gotcha

Oh please. That's just as much a cop out as it would be me saying the responsibility is solely on the individual to protect them self from a potential mugging. Which I explicitly did not say.

My point is that given the environment, in which Gardai are under-resourced, as well as the notoriety of the area, along with the comparison I made about the phone being akin to five or six hundred euro in your hand, you do need to be more careful of incidents like this than say walking down a street in a small country town or village. Of course the mugging is not the fault of the victim, and the long term solution should not have to be extra vigilance on the part of the victim. But until we as a society decide we want that to change, that is the way it has to be unfortunately.

Pawwed Rig

Which is all very easy to say after the poor guys phone is already gone. I am sure he knows what he should have done.

FAILSAFE 00

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Which is all very easy to say after the poor guys phone is already gone. I am sure he knows what he should have done.

Its always good to highlight awareness.

Arcade_Tryer

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Which is all very easy to say after the poor guys phone is already gone. I am sure he knows what he should have done.

If I really wanted to be a prick, I'd ask if he wanted to pay more in taxes.

As above, I was merely offering advice for anyone reading and for the future.

lightspeed

Hindsight is of little benefit of course and generally im usually quite aware to be carefull with my phone in my hand.

If i see anyone potentially dodgy looking id put it away in my pocket and hold on to it closely.

From the time i left were i parked and turned down the corner i was walking on, it really would have less than a minute when this happened so im certain im not somebody that this guy observed before the theft.

In this instance, i never heard or seen the guy who approached me from behind on my left and grabbed it from my right hand. It happened so quickly i didnt have time to react quick enough.

Also it was a samsung s6 edge which is a bigger and wider phone than my old iphone meaning its difficult to use and hold tightly against such potential thefts.

I tried to warn others as i walked by them just after it happened and perhaps due to how i was dressed (bomber jacket, jeans, sneakers and some marks on my face from a bad spell of acne) people seemed intimidated and annoyed that i said anything to them. I could see people standing around with their phone fully on display much more so than mine.

As i said, the guy next to me in the garda station had his nose cut open when he was attacked by 3 guys for his phone despite other people being in the area and this would have happened also around 8:00pm.

Also if i understood what another poster here mentioned, a guy was thrown off his bike and his bike taken by a group aswell.

To assume that if you are more careful with how you use your phone in areas like IFSC that you are safe from being attacked and mugged in the area is arrogant nonsense.

Its unacceptable to me that the main financial services which is also full of many tourists is allowed to be written off as a hotspot for crime.

Why do we have to wait until a tourist is mugged and it trends online before policing exists in the area.

With regard to taxes, I absolutely want to pay more taxes on condition that it means we have more gardai and other services where needed are provided.

Arcade_Tryer

lightspeed wrote: »

Also it was a samsung s6 edge which is a bigger and wider phone than my old iphone meaning its difficult to use and hold tightly against such potential thefts.

...

To assume that if you are more careful with how you use your phone in areas like IFSC that you are safe from being attacked and mugged in the area is arrogant nonsense.

Do you not see an irony here? It's not arrogant nonsense at all. It's sensible, well meaning advice. You can view it as condescending if you like. But that is not the intention. Don't use the phone while walking in that area if you think being more careful won't change anything. Problem of someone stealing it from a bicycle solved.

Alf Veedersane

While I appreciate what you're saying, the IFSC isn't a tourist area. It's also adjacent to Sheriff St.

A lot of the scummery is opportunistic, which doesn't make it any better but it's an area you absolutely do have to just play the odds when it comes to your belongings.

The shortage of Gardai on the street is a long running thing with the busiset stations in Dublin. A mate of mine worked there and what he told me about the resourcing was actually shocking

franglan

Was walking down there on the north side of the Liffey beside the Luas line towards Samuel Beckett bridge recently. Minding my own business and got my sunglasses robbed off my face by a young knack on a bike. Ran after the lad then realised I'm more of an endurance runner and he's on a bike! Typical looking fella, full Nike tracksuit roughly around 14 or 15. Anyway eventually saw him again after a bit of running after him/waiting to see if I could spot him. Went up and challenged him on the thief - sure he denied everything. And my glasses were long gone to one of his other knacker friends. Wouldn't be taken out your phone or having any thing expensive visible on you when walking around there.

curiousoranje

You always see those sort lads on bikes all over town on the lookout for easy targets, 7-9pm when it's getting dark seems to be their favourite time to operate. You see them checking bike racks to see which ones have easy locks to break at this time as well.

Even if there was guards walking the beat or in a car nearby (some stations may only have 4 guards to cover a district) it's very unlikely they'd be able to catch up with them, especially in an area like the IFSC where vehicular access aint great.

Only option is for people to be more aware of their surroundings and not display valuables. The ridiculousness of phone sizes doesn't help I know.

Corca Baiscinn

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

While I appreciate what you're saying, the IFSC isn't a tourist area. It's also adjacent to Sheriff St.

Of course it's a tourist area, not in the sense that tourists come to gawp at the Financial Services Buildings but it's close to several hotels along the Quays and no doubt to several airbnb's in the IFSC apartments, also to Connolly Station, to the Bord Gais Theatre and the Convention Centre.

I'm glad of the warning OP and other posters as I walk there occasionally and while my phone isn't worth stealing form the value point of view the hassle of losing it is crazy seeing as we seem to carry our lives on our phones these days.
It's easy to say be vigilant but a tourist looking at a paper map for example instead of taking out their phone, or taking a photo with an ordinary camera is drawing attention to themselves just as much so it aint always easy

slowjoe17

My view is:

1. IFSC is not the tourist magnet being suggested. I would be definitely warning tourists away from the area.
2. I will bet the thief on the bike had a spotter on foot.
3. I will bet that spotter is only interested in recent model phones (and especially recent iphones).
4. Not having your phone out for longer than necessary would reduce (but not eliminate) the risk of a mugging.
5. The only way to reduce the mugging problem is to have some kind of incremental punishment for repeat offenders. Something like requiring max sentences for crimes after the 10th conviction would work. And build a prison to house the muggers in Malin Head so that their mates can't get them their drugs as easily.

lightspeed

curiousoranje wrote: »

You always see those sort lads on bikes all over town on the lookout for easy targets, 7-9pm when it's getting dark seems to be their favourite time to operate. You see them checking bike racks to see which ones have easy locks to break at this time as well.

Even if there was guards walking the beat or in a car nearby (some stations may only have 4 guards to cover a district) it's very unlikely they'd be able to catch up with them, especially in an area like the IFSC where vehicular access aint great.

Only option is for people to be more aware of their surroundings and not display valuables. The ridiculousness of phone sizes doesn't help I know.

That is why there should be more gardai on bikes and on foot patrolling which is somewhat a large part of policing.

I dont accept the sentiment to write off crime in the area by saying people just need to be more careful.

Im sure there are plenty of people from around the world visiting IFSC area for business and staying in hotels nearby just like tourists. Many of which are going to assume its safe to go outside to nearby bars and restaurants around the city, taking pictures with their phone also.

Given that others including the person i seen friday night have been violently attack by groups of muggers, its not a fair assessment to think you wont be mugged cause you dont take your phone out.

Nearly every person alive at this point in the developed world at least has a smartphone or wallet which they will carry with them when outdoors.

So obviously the the guys mugging people with great success know this so will just attack you, beat you and demand you hand over a phone or wallet.

So if we are not able to police such areas, what is the ultimate alternative solution?

Should we just start advising tourists and people staying in dublin for business not to come as there are widespread muggings and a non existent police presence?

Alf Veedersane

lightspeed wrote: »

That is why there should be more gardai on bikes and on foot patrolling which is somewhat a large part of policing.

I dont accept the sentiment to write off crime in the area by saying people just need to be more careful.

Im sure there are plenty of people from around the world visiting IFSC area for business and staying in hotels nearby just like tourists. Many of which are going to assume its safe to go outside to nearby bars and restaurants around the city, taking pictures with their phone also.

Given that others including the person i seen friday night have been violently attack by groups of muggers, its not a fair assessment to think you wont be mugged cause you dont take your phone out.

Nearly every person alive at this point in the developed world at least has a smartphone or wallet which they will carry with them when outdoors.

So obviously the the guys mugging people with great success know this so will just attack you, beat you and demand you hand over a phone or wallet.

So if we are not able to police such areas, what is the ultimate alternative solution?

Should we just start advising tourists and people staying in dublin for business not to come as there are widespread muggings and a non existent police presence?

Gross exaggerations aren't helpful. I lived nearby for 5 years. Managed to not get attacked for all of my time.

So by my own n=1 experiment, it's perfectly fine.

The truth is you may be mugged or have an item stolen. You can play the odds by just being a bit more careful if you know about it and it's good for people to know it as has been said.

But Garda resources are scarce. We should have a lot more on the ground. There aren't nearly enough and I don't think AGS think there are by any stretch of the imagination.

But to suggest people should avoid Dublin because muggings have happened in the city is nonsense. A colleague was robbed at knife point in Spain, another had her handbag wrestled off her in Rome. Should people avoid there too?

ongarboy

Imagine shelling out 600K to live in an apartment in this area only to endure or be in fear of this sort of seemingly regular crime. I know crime can take place everywhere but those prices seem more akin to a safe, upmarket D4 neighbourhood then one only 200 meters from some of the more notorious inner city corporation flats.


http://www.daft.ie/dublin/apartments-for-sale/ifsc/69-lee-house-custom-house-square-ifsc-dublin-1295024/

lightspeed

ongarboy wrote: »

Imagine shelling out 600K to live in an apartment in this area only to endure or be in fear of this sort of seemingly regular crime. I know crime can take place everywhere but those prices seem more akin to a safe, upmarket D4 neighbourhood then one only 200 meters from some of the more notorious inner city corporation flats.


http://www.daft.ie/dublin/apartments-for-sale/ifsc/69-lee-house-custom-house-square-ifsc-dublin-1295024/

That is exactly the point I was making earlier. The idea that spencer dock and IFSC in general is a safe upmarket area that warrants such huge purchase prices and high rents is a fraud given that the likes of sheriff street it bang smack behind it.

Im open to correction but i dont think thats the same in every country. If i pay mad money to live in an expensive part of london or New York, would I be living next to a rough council estate and with high amount of muggings outside my door?

Spencer dock is where i work and my phone was robbed about less than a minute from there.

Check out the below, for just €975 a week you can live in an area where muggings have become a common occurrence.

http://www.daft.ie/dublin/apartments-for-rent/ifsc/spencer-docknorth-wall-quay-ifsc-dublin-1402491/

Arcade_Tryer

If those are the prices, it's because people are obviously willing to pay them.

A lot of the people buying them will be in highly paid jobs from morning till evening and will have plenty of money to get dropped to the door by a taxi after a night out or a late night working. The value they put on the location is greater than the potential threat posed by the surrounding areas and the anecdotal evidence provided in this thread.