An American newspaper asked Brits for petty crime stories. They got classic snark back.

The World
Police officers on patrol during the Notting Hill Carnival in London. Photo taken on August 27, 2018.

London has a serious violent crime problem. The homicide rate in the British capital, for example, is at a 10-year high. Knife crime offenses are also at their highest level since 2010.

Officials with the London Assembly’s police and crime committee just wrote a letter to the mayor, calling for “further and drastic action.”

Again, this is serious stuff.

But here’s a different London crime story playing out this week that caught our eye here in The World’s newsroom. 

It started with a callout on Twitter from The New York Times, asking people if they’ve been victims of petty crime in London.  

What followed was a whole lot of British snark.

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One petty crime theme centered around perceived grammar offenses.   

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British manners were another prominent theme. 

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One more example here, alluding to the unforgivable harm done to Great Britain by the 1964 American film, “Mary Poppins.” 

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