OPINION - 'My camera was stolen - and the Met didn't help because they couldn't find the address'

My camera was snatched in broad daylight, as I enjoyed a drink at a central London pub... and, if it wasn't for a major error from the Met Police, we might have tracked the suspects down.Right... let's go back to the start.Last week, myself, along with a few other journalists, went to a bar in Shoreditch to celebrate a colleague’s final shift, a stone's throw away from Old Street station.After only a couple sips of my drink, I suddenly noticed that the black rucksack I came with, which contained my video camera, tripod and microphone, had suddenly vanished from the corner it had been sitting in.Once the staff behind the bar told me nothing had been handed in, my heart sunk - the stories of meticulous bag snatchers I had reported on so frequently - I knew what had happened, but this time, I was the victim.Rushing down to the bar's basement with the manager, we scanned through the CCTV, and – there it was - two men, hovering near the door, as one appears to slither their leg behind them, wrap their foot around the rucksack's strap, and drag it forward.The other man then appears to then bend over to pick it up, and the two walk off - without a soul noticing.But, looking at the time on the CCTV, it had only been 15 minutes - maybe they were still in the area, maybe there was a chance of getting it back?I had the time the incident occurred, a pretty crystal clear image of who I believe stole my belongings, and the direction they had left in.So, I rang 999, the operator answers, asking where and when the alleged crime took place."In Shoreditch, right by Old Street station", I muttered.DatawrapperA few clicks of her mouse later, I was told the exact address was not in their system, so it “must be in the City of London, you need to contact them."Despite my insistence that we weren't in the City of London and, reporting on police incidents multiple times a week, that I was certain it was in fact their jurisdiction, I was handed the number for the City Police, and the call ended.I cannot praise the work of the City of London Police higher, who were immensely helpful in reporting and filing the crime report, even though I wasn't even in the City.DatawrapperBut, by this point the bag had been missing for 45 minutes, and the suspects could be anywhere among the winding back alleys of Old Street and Brick Lane.Read MoreThe morning after, I was woken by a call from the Met Police - and, rather naively, answered with optimism that the camera had been found.Instead, I received an apology from the force, saying they should indeed have dealt with my report and that I was sent to the care of the City of London Police because of a mistake in their system.When the call handler makes a report on the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), a software used to manage emergency calls and coordinate the response, the recorded location is marked with a 'Happy House' tag when the address is within the Met's jurisdiction, as opposed to, for example, Surrey or Hertfordshire.However, when the bar's address did not come up as a 'Happy House', this appeared to be enough justification to palm me off to the police force down the road.The Met admitted to me there were three other indicators on their system that should have informed the operator otherwise - the borough being Tower Hamlets, the postcode starting in EC2A, and the fact I was near Old Street Station, more than half a kilometre north of the City perimeter.A spokesperson for the force said, “We apologise for the handling of this call and for any additional distress this caused.“The call has been reviewed internally, and appropriate action has been taken to ensure the same mistake does not happen again.“The investigation into the theft is ongoing.”But it raises some burning questions; what if the first operator had helped? What if the suspects were still in the area?Although I appreciate the apology, it leaves a rather bitter taste in my mouth that, if it was dealt with appropriately, patrolling officers could have been fed the suspect's description, clothing, and where they may be looking for their next victim.And, more importantly, what if I had reported a more serious crime? Would the force not send officers to a case of domestic abuse just because their software doesn't say 'Happy House'?How do they expect our capital to become a safer place...If I’m totally honest, I knew when I first moved down to London from the North that something like this was going to happen at some point - such is the sad reality of living in bustling London - but experiences like these should not compromise this great city’s standards.Although... if you happen to see a Panasonic Lumix S5II going on the cheap on Facebook Marketplace any time soon, let me know - there's a good chance it might be mine.