I’ve been targeted by robbers and been the victim of ‘anti-Semitic abuse’ on the Tube – I’m now scared to go to work in lawless London

A young woman has been left terrified of going on the Tube after she was subjected to two vile incidents in the space of a few months.  

Olivia Emin, 25, from north London, had her bag snatched out of her hands two weeks ago and was also the victim of an ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ last summer. 

She said her purse was stolen by two yobs who had jumped the barriers as she was getting on a Victoria Line train at Finsbury Park on May 1. 

Olivia, who was commuting to work at the time, said they grabbed her belongings just as the Tube doors were closing and ran off. 

Meanwhile, the 25-year-old who is Jewish, said she was also harassed on the London Overground near Finchley Road last summer. 

She said she was targeted by a man who tried to intimidate her and thrust a book about Palestine in her face because of the Star of David necklace she was wearing. 

Olivia said the police were ‘useless’ and failed to investigate either incident properly – even claiming in one case the CCTV had been deleted. 

She said she has been left ‘scared’ she will be targeted again – as there are no longer any incentives for perpetrators to stop committing crimes across the capital. 

Olivia Emin (pictured), 25, from north London, had her bag snatched out of her hands earlier this month and was also the victim of a suspected ‘anti-Semitic hate crime ‘ last summer

Olivia said the police told her they were unable to get her stuff back and would not investigate the crime any further as the value of goods taken was ‘too low’

Left: The Star of David necklace Olivia was wearing last summer. Right: The letter Olivia received from police saying they would not investigate the theft any further

Olivia said the police told her they would not investigate the bag snatching incident because the value of goods taken was ‘too low’.

She said they also refused to help her get some of her stuff back after she managed to locate her missing house keys using an Apple AirTag they were attached to. 

The tracker showed they had been dumped in a bin by the tracks at Finsbury Park and with the help of a ‘Good Samaritan’ at the station, she was able to recover the items before she was even sent a crime reference number by police.

The thieves, however, kept her cards and ID and tried to purchase goods at the Arsenal Stadium in north London.  

Olivia told MailOnline: ‘I was scared that the person who robbed me would still be at the station and I asked the police if they would come with me to get my stuff back. 

‘But I was told that is not what the police are for. They were completely useless.

‘Between me, my mum and this random guy at the station we managed more than the police. 

‘They then contacted me to say they wouldn’t be investigating it because the value of the items taken was too low.

Olivia said the police were ‘useless’ and failed to investigate either incident properly – even claiming in one case the CCTV had been deleted

The letter Olivia received from the police saying they were unable to secure CCTV in time to investigate the suspected hate crime 

Olivia had her bag snatched out of her hands by two yobs who had jumped the barriers as she was getting onto a Victoria Line train at Finsbury Park (pictured)

 ‘There is absolutely nothing stopping them from targeting me again. It is the fact that this happened on my way to work and nothing happened. It makes me scared.’

‘It is clear they are going for young women. What’s the incentive for them to stop,’ she added. 

Meanwhile last summer, Olivia was also the victim of a suspected hate crime on the Overground in north London.

She said she was harassed by a man, who tried to thrust a book about Palestine in her face, because of the religious symbol she was wearing. 

Olivia reported the incident to police the same day, but she was told they would not be able to investigate any further. 

She said the police ‘sat’ on her report for 28 days – by which point the CCTV footage on the London Overground had been deleted. 

In a letter, the British Transport Police said: ‘Unfortunately we have not been able to secure CCTV in time to review the incident or be able to get an image of the suspect in question. 

‘The reason for this is because there appears to have been a delay in the transfer from the Metropolitan Police, who this was reported to, to them sending it to ourselves. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan uses his mobile phone on the London Underground in August 2023

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Three ‘gadget-grabber tactics’… and how to keep your phone safe  

British Transport Police says there are three ‘gadget-grabbers tactics’ for people to be aware of:

1. The Plucker – Thief selects a victim who has fallen asleep in their seat: they can then quickly steal the victim’s phone without waking them.
2. The Grabber – Thief watches as victim is distracted and puts their phone on a seat or table. The thief then walks by and steals it.
3. The Snatcher – Thief stands by the exit and times the theft carefully: waiting until the train is about to depart, the thief snatches the phone from the victim’s hands and runs out as the doors close behind them.

The force also gives a series of tips to help you keep your valuables safe:

• Always keep your phone out of sight when not in use (avoid your back pocket)
• Avoid using in crowded places or when it is unsafe to do so
• Register all your electrical items at immoblise.com – if it is stolen, we are more likely to find it
• Record your IMEI number. Dial *#06# to get this
• Ensure that stolen device protection or theft detection is enabled in your phone security settings

‘This was received by us on September 23, 2024, where sadly the CCTV had already been overwritten as the London Overground is retained for 28 days. 

‘I can only apologise for this.’ 

Olivia said: ‘I reported this incident to police, saying this man was trying to intimidate me on the train. I even took a picture of him but they still couldn’t do anything. 

‘The robbery I can kind of understand why nothing was done, as this happens to a lot of people and they don’t have the time to chase after everybody, but not everyone is the victim of a hate crime.’ 

MailOnline has contacted the British Transport Police for comment. 

It comes amid an epidemic of phone and bag snatching incidents on the London transport network.

Reports of theft and robberies on trains and at stations rose by 58 per cent from 2018 to 2023, according to police figures – with London making up the majority last year.

But an overwhelming 98 per cent of the 23,683 thefts and robberies recorded last year did not result in what police describe as a ‘positive outcome’ or conviction.

Among the recent victims was Niall McNamee, a musician and actor who was on a Tube train when his phone was snatched from his hand just as the doors shut.

The 30-year-old then discovered to his horror two days later that £21,000 had been drained from his bank accounts, including a £7,000 loan taken out in his name – despite his banking apps being protected by facial recognition and passwords.

Mr McNamee told BBC News: ‘It’s one of those moments where you just in one second feel a bucket of sweat come out of your head and you go red.

‘It was panic stations for two days. I was on the phone pretty non-stop… and then pacing up and down the kitchen. Just trying to get to the bottom of it.

‘I’ve no idea how they’d got into either of my accounts. It’s face ID and password protected. They managed to take out a loan, which is a laugh because I’ve been trying to get a loan for years and I’m not eligible for one – somehow they managed to.’

Meanwhile anti-Semitic attacks on British Jews continued at near-record levels last year.

There were 3,528 anti-Semitic incidents in the UK during 2024, the second-highest total ever recorded, a shocking new report reveals today.

The year showed an 18 per cent fall on levels seen in 2023, which witnessed an orgy of vile anti-Semitism assaults. 

Among the incidents against British Jews were one categorised by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism as ‘extreme violence’, an arson attack on a residential property.

There were also 201 assaults, 157 incidents of damage or desecration, 250 threats and 2,892 reports of abusive behaviour.

‘In five incidents, the perpetrator deployed a non-lethal firearm and, on a further five occasions, used their vehicle to physically endanger pedestrians,’ the report said.

‘In four instances, a stick or other weapon was employed, while three incidents involved a knife.’

Reports of theft and robberies on trains and at stations rose by 58 per cent from 2018 to 2023 (file photo)

Police officers on patrol at London Bridge station on the Underground network in July 2020 

Regarding the bag theft, a spokesperson for the British Transport Police said: ‘British Transport Police received a report of a snatch theft that had taken place at Finsbury Park Underground station at around 8.30am on Thursday 1 May 2025.

‘BTP has to make difficult decisions to ensure that policing resources are used proportionately to the threat, risk, and harm of an incident. 

‘Each crime has to be assessed on these factors as well as solvability factors and the likeliness of a possible prosecution.

‘Whilst we know that offences such as these can be costly, inconvenient, and upsetting, there is often limited opportunity for investigation. 

‘Officers conduct a test of proportionality to offences – looking at factors such as the availability of CCTV and whether there is a realistic prospect of a successful outcome. In this case, it was deemed not proportionate to investigate this crime any further.

‘This does not mean we do no not investigate certain types of crime. Rather, we are ensuring our officers are maximising their available time, out across the network for passengers and rail staff, where they’re needed the most. 

Any offence which is not investigated will still provide us with valuable intelligence, used to direct our patrols and operations.’

Regarding the alleged hate crime, a spokesperson for British Transport Police said: ‘British Transport Police received a report of a hate crime that occurred just before 9am on a London Overground train between Hampstead Heath and Finchley Road on 14 August 2024. 

‘Unfortunately, CCTV footage of the incident was no longer available when the report was received and the investigation was closed pending any new information.’

 

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