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My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

75 points · 135 comments · luu

  1. Waterluvian · · focus · HN ↗
    Is "snatching a phone and running off" a common enough problem in some regions that this is worth having? Or is this a feature chasing after fears of the bogeyman, leading to concrete inconveniences like this?
    1. hbn · · focus · HN ↗
      > Is "snatching a phone and running off" a common enough problem in some regions that this is worth having?

      Yes absolutely

      <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cbc.ca&#x2F;news&#x2F;world&#x2F;phone-london-snatch-9.7204104" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cbc.ca&#x2F;news&#x2F;world&#x2F;phone-london-snatch-9.7204104

      1. Waterluvian · · focus · HN ↗
        Thanks! Given this was CBC, my jaw hit the floor when I saw London. I live 20 mins from London, Ontario and 70k thefts in a year would be _insane_. Then I realized it was about London, U.K. and my jaw only hit the table. 70k is still insane, though.
        1. clort · · focus · HN ↗
          Is it really insane? That is less than 200 per day, in a city of 15 million people.. a single gang of 20 thieves could likely manage that! The real question is, how does this compare to other cities of this size and demographics?
          1. iamnothere · · focus · HN ↗
            Why compare demographics?
            1. pavel_lishin · · focus · HN ↗
              I would expect a city that&#x27;s mostly retirement communities to have less snatch-and-run thefts than a city where tourists make up a large part of the population at any given time.
              1. iamnothere · · focus · HN ↗
                [delayed]
                1. Melatonic · · focus · HN ↗
                  [delayed]
                  1. iamnothere · · focus · HN ↗
                    In Beijing robberies are 0.55 per 1,000. In Taipei it’s an unbelievable 0.0036 per 1,000, although general theft is higher 2.12). Are all these countries underreporting?

                    Singapore is 0.01 per 1,000. Hanoi doesn’t have published statistics but its Numbeo crime index (calculated from surveys) is 28.71 versus London at 55.22.

                    I think we can stop excusing London’s numbers.

                    Want a non-Asian country in case Asians are somehow magical beings who don’t commit crime? Ottawa is 0.11 to 0.13 per 1,000. Vancouver is 0.73 per 1,000. Sydney is 0.13 to 0.15 per 1,000. Dubai is 0.03 to 0.045 per 1,000.

                    London is supposed to be a global city on par with many of these others. So what is going wrong?

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