As to threats, the rate of random street violence in London is FAR, far higher than in the US. Odds of being mugged at night as a tourist are...well, bad, if you get into the wrong area but even in the "good" areas, it's BAD.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...g-centres.html
Look at the levels of crime in just one big shopping center in a month:
* "Violent crime" at 235
* 52 robberies
* "Public disorder and weapons" at 142, and whatever that is, it's separate from the much less common "simple posession of weapons" at 3
* Violence and sexual offenses: 37
Again: that is ONE shopping mall.
Still think I'm paranoid?
Europe together with many other places around the world are not the Wild West.
Firstly, I should point out that the shopping centre you've quoted is said to be the "worst in Europe". That means all others are better. It also does not mean all others were almost as bad. Just don't go there. Heck, don't even go to shopping centres: the most boring, generic places known to man
Secondly, it is in an area of London that is relatively poor. If you think of poorer or more deprived areas of NY or LA etc, then it is probably the equivalent.
Thirdly, it is also the area that hosted the Olympics. So we have crime stats for the area of the Olympics, covering a period that
included the Olympics. Hmmm....I sense atypical circumstances might well be somewhere behind those figures...
Still, tourists were not being shipped back in body bags, in their thousands, during or after the games, if I recall.
In addition, the Daily Mail is one of the UK's more sensationalist papers. When not trying to make middle-England gasp with outrage and shock over their tea and digestive biscuits, their other major selling point is celebrity gossip
. Personally, I've grown to take what they print with a good dose of salt.
Finally, and most importantly,
the OP was about whether or not a torch could have any SD value, so let's not get side-tracked with another "The UK/Europe is an anarchic death-trap" tirade, but instead stick to the topic.
For the purposes of clarity: I fell confident in saying that airport security are not going to confiscate a torch...
If they see a metal cylinder in a bag that is not recognisable as a torch they may, quite understandably, want to take a closer look at it. If anything, they'll ask you to switch it on to prove it is a functional torch, and then let you re-pack. That is not quite the same as demanding proof it is not a weapon.
Just don't pack a 6D Maglite in your rucksack or you may raise some eyebrows. Even then you might just need to check it in, instead.
Anyway, I'd have thought that serious security in the airports would be a welcome thing...
To the OP:
Europe is a fascinating place that is incredibly rich in history and cultures which can be like chalk and cheese yet only a border apart. Music, sights, sounds, food, beverages of every kind packed into such a small, easily navigable area...
Like everywhere there are idiots and bad people. Also like everywhere, the
vast majority of folk are decent human beings with a far greater urge to help than to harm.
I drove across the continent with my family from Estonia to Spain then back again over the summer, sometimes sleeping in the van. Never had a single problem. And all my guns were locked away at home.
Seriously, if your first reaction to a holiday around Europe is that you're being "dragged" there, then perhaps you shouldn't go. I think it is a fabulous opportunity, but that is me and tend to think that about most possible destinations.
However, if you feel you're going to spend the whole trip expecting to be ambushed by foot-pads at every corner, you won't enjoy any of it. What would be the point? Holidays are supposed to be fun...
