Witness appeal following robbery in Rickmansworth

Police are appealing for witnesses and information following a robbery in Rickmansworth.

At around 8.45pm on Thursday 29 August, a man was walking on Nightingale Road, near Victoria Close, when his bag was snatched by a man riding a moped. His mobile phone was also knocked out of his hand and smashed, but recovered.

Detective Constable Nathan Kaye, who is investigating, said: “This was an incident which left the victim shocked, but fortunately uninjured.

“While these types of thefts are currently in the national news, incidents of this nature remain rare in Three Rivers. Even so we would encourage people to take some sensible precautions to protect their phone and stay safe while using it in a public place.

“I would like to hear from anyone who was in the vicinity around the time of this incident and saw what happened to get in touch, also if you have CCTV which captured anything out of the ordinary I would also like to hear from you.

“I can be contacted directly by email via email.”  

You can also report information online, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference 41/72215/24.

Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form.

Crime prevention advice.

Protect yourself from mobile phone theft –

• Be aware of your surroundings and only use your mobile when it feels safe to. When you’ve finished using it, put it away.
• Don't text while you're walking – you won't notice what's going on around you
• If that's not possible, stand away from the roadside, close to a building or wall, so no one can come up behind you.
• Going hands-free can prevent a thief from snatching your phone out of your hand.

Things to do now that will help if your phone gets stolen

Secure your phone - Use your phone’s security features to stop someone using your phone if it’s stolen. Choose a strong PIN, passcode, password or pattern.

Get your IMEI number - Get your phone’s IMEI number by typing *#06# on your phone keypad. Keep a note of it somewhere other than on your phone. The IMEI can help track the phone down if it’s lost or stolen.

Use a tracking app - Set up a tracking app on your phone so you can see where it is from another device like a laptop. Use it as soon as possible, before thieves have a chance to disable it.

Turn off message previews - Turn off message previews, so that thieves won’t see any messages about reset or login codes when your phone is locked.

Make sure you can still access your data

Make sure:

• your phone data is regularly being backed up, either automatically over wifi or by plugging it into a computer.
• there’s somewhere else you can get access codes sent to (two-factor authentication codes) to access your data from another device.
• you keep important information like family and friends’ phone numbers and passwords somewhere else secure, not just on your phone.