After a recent rise in handbag theft in London’s West End, two anti-bag snatching clips that can be placed under pub and restaurant tables and are being used to combat handbag theft in the London Borough of Westminster.
The clips are also being used at department store Harrods and in branches of All Bar One, JD Wetherspoons and Starbucks. One of the products, the Grippa Clip, has been created with the Design Against Crime Research Centre (DACRC) in London. <br><br>The Grippa Clip has been designed to be easy for a handbag owner to secure their bag at a table but difficult for a bag snatcher to release and take it. The clips, which are being marketed by Selectamark have been fitted in several sites including branches of All Bar One, JD Wetherspoons, and Starbucks in London. One of the most important factors is making customers aware that the clips are available for use, so a range of eye-catching communication products were also designed by DACRC. These include window stickers and handbag-shaped ‘hangers’ that are hung on the clips to encourage customers to secure their bags to prevent theft.<br>Another idea for securely storing handbags and personal luggage under tables is the Chelsea Clip, also from Selectamark.<br><br>The Chelsea Clip is a hook placed under a table and from which a bag, or other small item of personal luggage, can be suspended by its own strap. The item is easily placed onto the clip but two hands are required to remove it, making bag snatching virtually impossible. The department store Harrods recently placed a large order for the Chelsea Clip to deter handbag theft and is using them in their dining and drinking venues in-store.<br><br>Hotels, pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes in the London Borough of Westminster are also using the Chelsea Clip as a solution to the problem of bag theft after a mass order of the clips was funded by the Safer Westminster Partnership (which includes Westminster City Council and the Met Police). The Met Police’s Westminster Safer Neighbourhood Team has distributed the clips to venues in Soho and Mayfair. The local Pubwatch and Cafewatch organisations, which run crime prevention initiatives supported by the licensees and cafe owners themselves, are also involved. <br> <br>Helen Wheeler-Osman from Westminster City Council said: “There has been a spate of bag theft from the backs of chairs in certain pubs in the Westminster area, so we were keen to find a solution that would give customers peace of mind as they relax with a drink or eat a meal with friends. In order that customers are aware that the Chelsea Clips are available for them to use under the tables, we worked in conjunction with Selectamark to produce special handbag-shaped labels that can be hung on the hook itself.” <br> <br>The labels, which carry the wording ‘Secure your bag here’ can also be placed around the neck of a wine bottle to advertise the clips. They have been printed in eight different languages so that tourists and visitors to the Capital can also be protected from bag theft. <br> <br>Ms Wheeler Osman added: “We would encourage all those who frequent pubs and restaurants to make use of the added security the clips offer in protecting personal luggage.”
