On a train out from London Waterloo to Guildford, Matt Parker observed another passenger steal an iPhone from an unattended bag. He proceeded to confront the thief, in a very British manner, who despite the yelling, disembarked from the train in possession of the stolen phone.
So I began initially tell him to put the phone back before escalating to a full yelling-at, during which I had the presence of mind to turn my phone on and video the whole thing. I even asked him first if he minded me photographing him stealing the phone and he was so brazened, he held it up to pose with it. That is the screen-grab at the top of this page.
If you recognize the thief you are urged to contact the Contact the British Transport Police here.
The repercussion of touching him or trying to forcefully take the phone would be a lot more sever than that of the guy taking the phone and getting caught. He was right to call the guards and not touch the thief. Most people wouldn't even go to that extreme for stranger. This guy gets props for at least letting the thief know how much of a dick he is.
Why the hell doesn't he grab the phone from him and give it back to the owner or telling the owner that's his/hers iPhone..? Or am I missing some detail as to why he only yells at the thief..?
Fom his blog:
"There were the usual fellow passengers, dotted around both the intoxication spectrum and the carriage. So no one took much notice when a rather drunk girl collapsed in a seat for a while and then got up and drifted off, seemingly looking for a toilet. However, she had left her bags behind and never came back for them."