Rich Londoners Hire Security, Leave Rolexes at Home Over Knife Crime, Robberies

‘The reality is that there are areas of London that are lawless. They’re also no-go areas,’ a police expert said.
Rich Londoners Hire Security, Leave Rolexes at Home Over Knife Crime, Robberies
A police van outside the gates of the British Museum in London on Aug. 23, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images
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LONDON—One of the world’s most popular tourist destinations is struggling with rising levels of robbery, usually involving knives, which has led to an increase in demand for bodyguards, experts say.

Will Geddes, a former bodyguard and managing director of ICP Group, which provides personal security teams in London, said, “I get regular calls from the United States, from the Far East, from places like China and Hong Kong, from clients who say ’my family or my sister or my girlfriend or whoever is going to be flying over to London, how safe is it?”

Chris Summers
Chris Summers
Author
Chris Summers is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of national stories, with a particular interest in crime, policing and the law.